


I Challenge You to...

by WaysOfSeeing



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Bottom Neville Longbottom, Boys In Love, Coming Out, Draco likes Harry but does Harry like Draco? - Freeform, Draco receives the dark mark, Homophobia, Homophobic Language, Internalized Homophobia, Kissing, M/M, Rare Pairing, Rare Pairings, Suicide Attempt, Top Blaise Zabini
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-12
Updated: 2019-05-12
Packaged: 2020-01-12 04:51:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 20
Words: 42,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18439406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WaysOfSeeing/pseuds/WaysOfSeeing
Summary: Neville Longbottom and Blaise Zabini are not friends. In fact, they had never spoken to each other before. They had no connection whatsoever. So why is Blaise suddenly so interested in the boy? Why is his smile so wide? What is he up to?It was just a joke. Slytherins being Slytherins, nothing else. That is until things move towards something unexpected. Two boys end up falling for one another.-In later chapters, Drarry happens. The thing is: Draco likes Harry but does Harry like Draco?





	1. Chapter 1

It was nighttime. Four Slytherins sat in the common room, one of them filled with mischief.  
“I bet Longbottom’s a virgin.” Pansy said, breaking the silence.  
“No kidding… That dweeb can’t even hold his wand properly.” Malfoy smirked in response.  
“I bet he’s gay too.” Pansy continued.  
“I don’t know, Pansy. I think he’s just a little slow. I highly doubt he’s into blokes.” Blaise Zabini, who was almost falling asleep lying on the velvet covered couch, joined.  
“Wanna make it interesting?” Pansy’s smile was too wide for Blaise’s liking.  
“I know I’m going to regret this but what do you have in mind?” The boy sighed.  
“Well, I say you seduce him into a confession.” The smile never left her lips.  
“What? Why me? Why not Malfoy? Or, better yet, Goyle?” Blaise was now fully awake.  
“Well, because, first of all, he hates Malfoy. And Goyle? Please, as if he would ever be into him.”  
“Hey! I can hear you, you know!” Goyle intervene.  
“Whatever. So, you in?”  
“Nuh uh, no way. What do I have to win anyway?”  
“The joy of breaking Longbottom’s heart as we all laugh in his face, what more could you want? And, besides, you’re not afraid of falling in love with him, are you?”  
“What? Of course not! That’s ridiculous!” Blaise felt his face heat up.  
“Then it’s settled! Finally, some excitement. I was starting to think we had lost our touch.”  
Blaise groaned. He was not looking forward to this at all.


	2. Chapter 2

Neville Longbottom ran through Hogwarts’ corridors, his books threatening to fall as he did. He was late for class, something he was well acquainted with because, even though he was already in sixth year, he had yet to master the school’s grounds, which resulted in getting lost frequently. Unfortunately, adding to his despair, he was stopped by a familiar face.  
“Hi!” Blaise Zabini smiled as he blocked the boy’s way. Neville’s books fell.  
“Oh no…” The boy mumbled to himself as he kneeled down to pick up the fallen objects. Zabini took the chance to help him, making sure to subtly graze the other’s hand. Neville’s face turned red at the soft touch.  
“You’re Neville, right?” Zabini’s smile had yet to fade. The other boy just nodded. “I don’t think we have properly introduce ourselves. I’m Blaise.”  
“I… I know who you are. You’re Malfoy’s friend.”  
“Malfoy’s a douche. We’re not really friends.” Blaise wasn’t completely lying, Draco Malfoy was indeed a douche.  
“Oh… well, uh… I need to go to class.” Neville tried to escape but was interrupted once again.  
“Wait! I wanted to ask you something.”  
The boy was starting to feel nervous. What did Zabini want? And how will he ever recover from Snape’s taunts after arriving so late? “Sure.” Was all that left his mouth.  
“I was wondering if you could help me. There’s a Herbology exam coming up and I really suck at Herbology and I know you’re quite good. So, could you maybe study with me?” Blaise Zabini wanted him, of all people, to help him with his exam?  
“Uh… I don’t…”  
“I’m really having difficulties, I don’t know who else to turn to.” Zabini’s expression turned sad.  
Neville just stared at the boy, unsure of what to say. Blaise then did something that made the boy really uncomfortable, the redness returning to his cheeks. He placed a hand on his arm. “Please.” Zabini pleaded, his voice soft, Neville could almost swear the other had just caressed his arm with his thumb. He swallowed and answered. “Ok.”  
“Great! Then this afternoon, after lunch? Library?” Blaise was finally moving away, a big smile back on his lips.  
“Ok.” Neville repeated, his voice small, and then ran off.

“It’s fairly easy. You see, all you really need to do is feed it melted chocolate twice a week, then it should grow properly in about three months or so.” Neville tried his best to teach the boy in front of him but it was proving to be quite difficult. Zabini seemed to be more interested in staring at his face, why he had no clue, than in the actual learning process. The boy swallowed, shifting his gaze from the other, and continued his speech. “Amazing creatures, plants. They all possess such extraordinary qualities. I think…”  
“They’re not the only ones, you know?” Blaise finally spoke, he had a barely noticeable smile on his lips, his voice was soft.  
“Not the only ones?…” Neville tried to control his urge to swallow once more but failed to do so.  
Blaise’s smile simply turned wider. The boy shifted his position. He was now leaning towards the book, his left hand placed on the other’s chair, they were extremely close, Blaise’s chest touching Neville’s back. He could hear Zabini’s heartbeat. He felt his body heat up, the boy could only imagine the colour his face had just turned to.  
Pansy Parkinson was right after all. There was no way Neville didn’t fancy boys. Blaise was certain his actions were having an effect on the other. He just didn’t know what his next step could be. He was definitely not going to kiss him, that’s for sure. All he needed was for the boy to make a move. Why did he get mixed up in this anyway? Why was it so funny to expose the boy’s sexuality? He cursed Pansy’s boredom. The girl always got what she wanted, he shouldn’t have minded her taunts.  
“Uh, Blaise?” Longbottom interrupted Blaise’s thoughts.  
“Yes?” The smile returned to Zabini’s lips, he turned his head to look at the boy to find himself very close to the other’s face. Now it was his turn to swallow. Neville’s eyes were grey. He hadn’t noticed that before. Blaise returned to his previous position. His heartbeat was going wild. He was just afraid of being caught with Longbottom, he didn’t want others to think he was actually bent and hitting on the boy. Yes, that’s what it was.  
“You ok?” Neville’s voice was small, he seemed to be nervous.  
“Of course.” Blaise went back to smiling, determined to continue his quest. He looked around the room. The only students there were two Ravenclaws sitting on the opposite table. Maybe he shouldn’t risk being seen. “Want to go somewhere else? I can’t really concentrate with other people around.”  
“Oh, uh… sure. Let me just…” Neville went to grab his belongings when, not surprisingly, he let the book fall onto the ground. The boy went to get it but was stopped by a hand on his. Blaise had just grabbed him so he could himself pick up the object. He then released the other and gave him back the book, a playful smile on his lips. “Are you always this clumsy?”  
“No. I… I mean, yeah, a bit.” Neville released a shy smile after that, his hand scratching the back of his neck, probably in a failed attempt to hide the fact that he was blushing again.  
“Cute.” Blaise said without thinking. He suddenly felt a shiver rush through him. Why on earth did he just say that? Longbottom wasn’t cute! He’s a boy, boys are not cute. He probably said it for the sake of the mission. For sure.  
While the other was freaking out at his own response, Neville’s eyes turned wide and his blush increased. Did Blaise Zabini just call him cute? 

They ended up in the Astronomy Tower. Very few students went there. Neville couldn’t understand why. It was nice and the view was quite astonishing. And so, they were alone. Perfect timing for Blaise to jump towards the next step. He already knew Neville was into him, that much was obvious. Now, the thing was: how would he react to what he was about to propose. Maybe he would just freak out. He had to risk it though.  
“Neville?” Blaise broke the silence as they were about to sit down on the floor.  
“Yeah?” The boy looked up, turning his gaze in the other’s direction.  
“I’ve been thinking. You and me, well, it’s not like we’re still strangers. You’ve been really nice, you know, with helping me out and all. I was hoping we could get to know each other a little bit more.”  
“Uh…” Neville’s face had turned tomato red once again. Why was he so awkward all the time?  
“So, I was wondering if you would like to go with me to Hogsmeade tomorrow. Just the two of us.” He gave one of his signature smiles. The other boy was not expecting the invitation.  
“You… you want to go to Hogsmeade with me? W…Why?”  
“Like I said, I want to get to know you better. You seem pretty amazing.” His smile lingered.  
Neville nervously scratched his book’s cover.  
“What do you say then? Wanna go?” The other insisted.  
“Uh… sure.” The boy was nervous and, quite honestly, afraid. How was this happening? First he called him cute then he asked him to go to Hogsmeade. Was Blaise Zabini interested in him? No, that couldn’t be. He was a Slytherin and friend’s with Malfoy and that other girl and definitely NOT gay. Still, he had said yes. He was screwed.  
“Great.” Blaise smile never left.


	3. Chapter 3

Neville Longbottom had yet to accept his sexuality. He knew he was attracted to boys, he had had a few crushes here and there and none of them girls. His heart would always race when a handsome guy touched his arm or smiled at him in a friendly sort of way. With Blaise it was the same thing. He was most likely up to something but, still, Neville couldn’t help but hope that… What was he thinking? He shouldn’t have accepted his invitation. Even if Blaise liked him, which he most definitely didn’t, what would happen? Would they kiss? He couldn’t kiss him. That would be wrong. He never once thought one day he would succumb to his… urges. He couldn’t do it. No, he couldn’t. What if someone saw? What if they said something? He couldn’t risk that. He knew he was gay but he was not ready for people to know that and he probably never would be.  
“Neville? You ok, mate?” Harry Potter stared at his roommate, who seemed to be fiddling with his shirt collar obsessively.  
“Uh?” Neville suddenly woke up from his thoughts, freeing the fabric from his grasp. “I was just…”  
Harry smiled at him. Longbottom was always lost in his own head, which many times rewarded him with his actions being clouded by clumsiness.  
“Do… do you think this looks good?” Neville asked, his voice trembling.  
“What? The shirt? Looks great.” The other boy smirked. “You seem nervous there, Neville. Do you have a date or something?  
“What? No! It’s not a date. I’m just going to Hogsmeade with uh… a friend.”  
“A friend, right.” Potter was not buying it, the other’s cheeks were bright red, he was definitely going on a date.  
“It’s true!” Neville raised his voice, he was getting nervous, he couldn’t let Harry think he was going on a date because then he would maybe find out he was going with a boy and then he’d probably assume…  
“Fine fine. You’re not going on a date.” The other placed his hand on the boy’s shoulder in an attempt to calm him down. He was still not quite convinced but he let the boy alone.

They met each other at Honeydukes, Blaise had been talking about this new candy they had that would make you look older. The more you ate, the older you got. He was excited to see his face filled with wrinkles. Of course the effects wore off after about 10 minutes but, still, Neville could understand why the excitement. He might buy some for himself, they supposedly tasted like cherry.  
“Hey, Neville!” Blaise was already there, his hands holding a lot of bags, most likely filled with all sorts of treats. He shouted towards the boy, who waved in return, too shy to greet him with the same enthusiasm. “Look at what I got!” He approached Neville, extending his arms. Yes, he had bought a lot of candy.  
“Cool.” The boy smiled. He didn’t know if the smile was truly genuine or not, he was too nervous for any of his actions to come naturally.  
“You know we’re sharing this, right?” Blaise smiled, playfully hitting the other on the shoulder. “Common!” He then raced towards the street, Neville following his footsteps.  
They reached a deserted area. Neville had never been there before and he betted not many people had. This place was far too hidden to be noticed. How Blaise knew about this spot a mystery to him.  
“What are you standing there for? Come!” Neville didn’t realize that he had in fact been motionless. He was awaken by Blaise’s voice and a hand on his pulling him towards the grass. The touch made his heartbeat turn wild.  
They sat on the grass. Blaise had this huge smile on his face, his teeth bare, he looked like a child on Christmas Day. He definitely liked candy.  
“Ok, so, this one is new too. It’s called LolaBoom. The lady said it explodes in your mouth, a rather unpleasant experiment supposedly but I say we try it.” After this brief presentation, he proceeded to open the package. Nothing happen. Blaise looked disappointed, as if he was expecting a smoke skull to come out or something similar. His smile quickly returned though. “Ok. You first!” He extended the package towards Neville who looked thoroughly at the content. It seemed just like ordinary candy. Tiny balls filled the wrapper, each with a colour of its own. He took one out. It was blue. “Go on.” Blaise was way more excited than the other. However Neville was willing to try just for the sake of making him happy. He placed it slowly on his tongue and closed his lips. The boys waited.  
“I don’t think…” Neville attempted to talk but was suddenly forced to stop. He froze, his eyes wide, then opened his mouth. A large amount of blueish smoke got out, the boy’s face turning blue as well. Then he coughed. A lot.  
“Geez, Neville, are ok?”  
The boy continued to cough, the blue getting darker by the second. Blaise was quick to grab the other’s cheeks, keeping him from falling or even fainting. A few seconds passed and the blue faced boy began gradually returning to his original state. He then laughed, Blaise laughed right back, his hands still on the same place as before. The laugh faded quickly though, Neville had just noticed the other’s touch. Blaise quickly pulled away.  
“So, uh… I guess I will not be trying that one.” The boy tried to cover his embarrassment. That had definitely not been part of the plan.  
Neville looked down, his cheeks unsurprisingly red. He cursed inwardly to himself.  
“Shall we try a different one then?” Blaise’s smile was back. The other boy nodded, a smile on his face too.

Blaise had to admit, Neville was great, he was awkward and clumsy yes but he had something else, something he could not quite identify. Yes, Blaise Zabini liked hanging out with Neville Longbottom, that afternoon being the most fun he had had in ages. He was the one who was doing mostly all the talking but he couldn’t help but enjoy the way the other boy’s face changed throughout the conversation.  
He remembered Neville as kid. He used to be chubby and awkward but now he had grown into a tall handsome looking fellow, almost as tall as Blaise himself, still awkward though but, honestly, that was something that added to his charm.  
“Blaise?”  
The boy was suddenly pulled out of his thoughts, not even having time to analyze what they had even meant.  
“Yeah?” Blaise answered with a small smile.  
“Y… You’re staring.” Neville stuttered, obviously uncomfortable with the situation.  
“Oh. Uh… sorry. I was just thinking.”  
“About?” Neville’s eyes did not leave the other’s.  
“You.” Blaise Zabini was not planing for that to come out of his mouth. In fact, he hadn’t been planing at all. He didn’t know what he was doing. He had even forgotten what had brought him there in the first place.  
Neville was not expecting that confession. Did Blaise really like him? He had been rather nice yes but still, how could he… When did this…The boy’s thoughts were all over the place.  
Blaise felt his face heat up, his heart betraying him as it beat faster. Why was he reacting this way? He didn’t fancy Neville, did he? That was ridiculous, it wasn’t like he was bent. He only had kissed and fucked girls, he was definitely attracted to them but then why did Neville had such an effect on him? It didn’t make sense. Could he be bi? No, not possible.  
“Blaise, do… do you like me?” Neville didn’t want that to come out of his mouth, he frantically attempted an apology. “Uh… Sorry, I didn’t mean to say that! Should we try another candy? You told me about one with aging effects. I have heard about it before, they say it’s really cool. And…”  
The other boy stopped listening. His eyes were wide. Why did Neville have to ask that? And what will he answer? A “no” should be the right response but that word just wasn’t able to come out of his mouth. He couldn’t speak and he was now feeling this sudden urge to… Blaise ended up doing something unexpected. He had lost control of his actions, something he would most likely regret later. He kissed Neville. The other stopped talking, closing his eyes as he felt the other’s lips upon his own. The kiss was soft. Neville Longbottom didn’t know what he was doing, this being his first, but he gradually began understanding the action’s mechanics, his skill improving after a short while.  
Blaise suddenly stopped the kiss, realizing what he was in fact doing. He quickly regretted the act. “Fuck. I… this… I shouldn’t have done that. I’m sorry! Let’s just forget it ever happened. I’m not gay, ok? I…”  
Neville looked down, a sudden interest in his own hands emerging. He was quiet and seemed sad. The other boy looked at him, not knowing what to do. Kissing? How could he kiss him? No no no, this was not ok.  
“Why… Why did you start talking to me? I mean, we had never spoken before and then you were suddenly in front of me, asking for help with your exam and I accepted and then you were very close and wanted to go somewhere private and we ended up here and you… you kissed me. If you’re not interested, why did you do it? Did you loose a bet or something? Well, if you did, you’re free now, you can go laugh it up with your friends. You’ve finished your task.” Neville broke the silence, his eyes still low as he spoke.  
Blaise felt bad, really bad. He couldn’t help it, he was a douche, he should have never accepted Parkinson’s request. But still, that didn’t explain the kiss. The truth is he wanted to kiss the other boy and that wasn’t premeditated, it was an impulse, a sudden need.  
“I wanted to.” He admitted.  
“Wanted to what?” Neville’s gaze left his hands.  
“To uh… kiss you.” This was probably the most awkward conversation both boys had ever been a part of.  
“You did?”  
“Yeah.” Blaise laughed. He didn’t know why, probably of despair.  
“Do you want to do it again?” Longbottom suddenly felt bold. “You know… kiss?”  
The other boy just nodded and proceeded to hold Neville’s cheeks, pulling him closer and going in for another kiss. This time there was eagerness involved, their lips moved hungrily agains’t each other, Blaise’s tongue slipping to enter the other’s mouth. Neville moaned, he had never experienced something close to this before and he had to admit, he was enjoying it, a lot.  
The kiss was broken, both boys with a barely noticeable smile on their faces.  
“It’s getting late.” Neville realized.  
“Yes.”  
“We should probably go.” Neville said, not truly meaning his words.  
“Yes.”  
But it was a long while before they actually went. They continued kissing until the sun was set. Then they said their goodbyes, a gentle squeeze of the hand, and went their way, each towards his own dorm.


	4. Chapter 4

“He’s not gay.” Blaise Zabini told his friend, the truth behind his words questionable.  
“I highly doubt that.” Pansy Parkinson was still not willing to admit defeat.  
“I mean it, Neville Longbottom is definitely straight.” This was a lie.  
“You sure? You could be misinterpreting his actions.”  
“I’m sure.” Blaise finalized, certainty in his tone.  
“Damnit! What now? I’m already bored.” Pansy huffed, crossing her arms.  
Both friends were standing outside the Herbology room. The girl looked around, searching for a new victim. She found Hermione Granger walking side by side with Ron Weasley. They were chatting, Hermione’s eyes rolling from time to time.  
“Hey, dweebs!” Pansy shouted towards the two, interrupting their conversation. Blaise stayed in his spot. Hermione put on a defensive stare. “Where’s Potter? Shouldn’t you be having a threesome somewhere?”  
“What do you want, Pansy?” The wild haired girl spit out.  
“Nothing, just thought I’d say “Hi”.” Parkinson’s smile was big. “Oh, and Weasley? There’s a spider crawling up your shoulder.”  
“What?! Where? Get it out!” Ron then frantically attempted to release himself from the small animal that was not there to be seen.  
“She’s messing with you, there’s nothing there.” Hermione stopped the boy’s desperate moves.  
“Ron! Hermione!” Neville Longbottom ran towards the two, his breathing heavy. “Harry’s looking for you, he said it’s urgent. Something about a…” The boy stopped talking, he had just noticed Blaise’s presence, he seemed to be looking his way. Neville stared at him for a moment and then continued his speech. “Last time I saw him, he was searching for you in the library. You should go, maybe he’s still there. Though I highly doubt it.”  
“Thanks, Neville.” Hermione smiled and then turned to Ron. “Common, let’s go. Harry must have found something.” And off they went. Neville never knew what the three friends were up to, they were always carrying secrets that they never shared. The boy hoped one day they would willingly include him in one of their adventures but he wasn’t very hopeful though.  
“Yes?” Pansy seemed impatient, she was looking at Neville, irritation clouding her features.  
“Uh…”  
“Don’t you have somewhere to go, Longbottom? You’re kinda in our way.” As always, the girl was rude.  
“Right.” Neville nodded and was off, but not without sharing a glance with Blaise first.  
“Fuck, you sure about him not being gay? It would be so much fun to mess with him. He’s practically begging for it.”  
Blaise didn’t answer.

They had arranged to meet at the astronomy tower after classes were over for the day, the only place they knew most students didn’t frequent.  
Blaise arrived at six o’clock to find a very nervous Neville Longbottom pacing back and forth through the room.  
“You ok there, Neville?”  
The frantic boy jumped, startled by the sudden voice, but then smiled shyly. “Yeah, I was just…”  
Blaise smirked and walked towards him, his right hand moving to grab the other’s chin, pulling his face slightly up for a kiss. He still had yet to figure out how this strange turn of events had occurred, the thing that confused him the most being how ok he was with the whole situation.  
“How is it that you always taste so sweet?”  
“Uh… must be my toothpaste, it’s supposed to taste like strawberry, I don’t really like the mint…” Neville was stopped by another kiss, Blaise’s hands grabbing his arms, pulling them to rest on top of his shoulders, he then placed his own on the other’s waist, pulling him closer.  
When the kiss was broken, Neville was the first to speak. “Your friend doesn’t like me very much.”  
“Don’t worry, it’s not like she likes anyone anyway.” Blaise planted kisses all around the boy’s face, finishing with a slow one on the neck and a quick lick, which definitely caught the other off guard, who flinched slightly at the sensation. Blaise laughed. “Are you always this cute?” Neville’s face turned bright red.  
“I wonder what would happen if I did this…” Blaise let his hands roam towards the other’s butt cheeks, giving them a tiny squeeze. Neville jumped and pulled away embarrassed, his face had yet to change back to its normal colour. The other boy laughed again and gave Neville a quick peck on the nose. “You’re such a virgin, Longbottom.” Blaise joked.

Dinner that day was weird. Blaise and Neville had separated, each going to their own house table. Zabini was sitting with his chums, Malfoy, Parkinson and Goyle, while Neville was at the Gryffindor table next to Potter, Weasley and Granger.  
“Neville!” Hermione shouted, waking the boy from his trance-like state.  
“What?” Neville answered, his voice still a bit out of place.  
“You seem strange. In fact, you’ve been acting weird for a while.” The girl’s eyebrows furrowed.  
“Yeah, it seems that you’re holding a secret.” Harry smirked at his own words. “Is it because of that date?”  
“Date? What date?” Ron was suddenly startled by the word, breadcrumbs escaping his lips.  
“There was no date!” Neville replied way too loud for it to be true. He repeated the words, calmly this time. “There was no date.”  
Hermione kept looking at the boy, as if she was trying to read his mind. For a moment, Neville thought she really was, something that made him very anxious, but discarded the thought quickly due to its silliness. The girl then breathed soundly and changed the subject, another that left Longbottom quite uncomfortable. “Zabini keeps looking this way. They must be up to something.”  
“Yeah, they haven’t truly bothered us for a while now… It’s definitely suspicious.” Ron stated. Harry nodded. Neville just looked at the potatoes on his plate.

When leaving the dinning area, Neville was suddenly hit by another body agains’t his.  
“Watch it, Longbottom!” It was Blaise, who shouted at him with disgust. The boy was not expecting the sudden spite and as soon as the blow came, the other was gone.  
Neville adjusted his clothes, an action he repeated frequently in moments of discomfort. He then saw something he wasn’t expecting, a piece of paper peaking through his pocket. So that was why Blaise had ran into him… The boy took the tiny sheet from his pocket and read what was on it: Potions’ room after curfew.  
“After curfew?” The boy mumbled to himself. Neville didn’t usually wandered around Hogwarts so late at night and in Potions? Snape’s classroom? What if Filch catches them there? Even worse, what if he catches them kissing? He had to go though. Blaise was obviously expecting him. It was settled then, they would meet in an empty classroom after curfew.

Blaise was already in the room when Neville arrived. It had been a stressful journey, always with the sensation Filch might jump out at any moment.  
The boy was ready to greet the other but didn’t have time, he was noticed right as he entered the room. Blaise ran, closed the door and pushed the other agains’t it, meeting his lips in a hungry kiss as his hands griped Neville’s hair, pulling it slightly. The other boy was quick to react, his hands wandering along Blaise’s torso. He was surprised at how hard it was, he was obviously hiding a six pack under there. Blaise Zabini was hot.  
Blaise pulled away for a second so he could capture the boy’s neck, sucking on it. Neville was panting, a small moan escaping his lips due to the pleasurable sensation, that made him suddenly feel self-conscious but he couldn’t control the sounds that were escaping his lips. Blaise smirked and continued the action, making sure to leave a mark on the skin. When he was done, he proceeded to remove the boy’s vest and began unbuttoning his shirt. Neville was too drunk on the overwhelming sensations that were running through his body to stop the act.  
Blaise Zabini was soon to realize that, under those clothes, Longbottom had a really nice body. He didn’t have super defined abs, it was true, but his stomach was flat and his skin was, well, damn right heavenly. He removed the boy’s shirt completely, letting it fall onto the ground. Then he pulled off his own in a quick motion. Blaise resumed the kiss, his hands on both sides of Neville’s face.  
Neville couldn’t believe his actions. He went to unzip the other’s pants. He had this beautiful boy, shirtless, pressing agains’t him, his lips on his and he was not feeling awkward and shy, by the contrary, he felt confident and eager to do stuff he had only ever dreamed of. So, here he was, Neville Longbottom, inside a classroom, Snape’s classroom, about to loose his virginity.  
Blaise’s trousers fell to the ground, the boy responsible now working to remove his own. Zabini waited for the other to finish and then turned him around roughly, placing his front agains’t the door. He then grabbed the other’s boxers and pulled them down, exposing his cheeks. The boy felt himself getting harder, if that was even possible, and attempted to put his cock inside but was met with: “W… Wait!” Neville said, blocking the action, his voice strained.  
“What’s wrong?” Blaise Zabini was confused.  
“That really hurts… maybe you should uh…” This was awkward. “Stretch the entrance first.”  
“Oh. Uh… Ok.” Blaise used his fingers, attempting to do what the other had suggested. The boy never did this before, he was used to just sliding inside, he guessed doing it with a guy required a bit more work.  
“I think you can try it now.” Neville said, his heart pumping.  
Blaise nodded, the other, of course, not seeing his reply. He then entered slowly, the boy in front of him clenched his wrists. He seemed to be in pain. “Maybe I should stop.”  
“No! Please, do it. I can handle it.” Neville’s breathing was heavy. “I just… please… move… I need…”  
Blaise nodded once more, no one to witness, and continued, his movements slow. A few seconds later, something shifted in the other boy, he began to enjoy it, the small moans escaping his lips to prove it. Blaise then felt more confident and increased the speed. This was nice, really nice, such a tight fit… He could now understand why there were dudes that liked to fuck other dudes. Bloody hell, it was fuck’n awesome. He groaned with pleasure. Tiny drops of sweat began running down his forehead as he started moving faster and faster. A loud moan escaped Neville’s lips as he came soon after. “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.” Blaise repeated, he could feel himself getting closer and closer to the finish line and, with one last rough motion, he came as well, letting his body fall agains’t the other’s. Neville laughed.  
“Hey! Why are you laughing?” Blaise asked, an involuntary smile growing on his lips.  
“Nothing.” He continued though. The other then turned him around, back towards himself, and kissed the boy, shutting him up. When he stepped back, Neville was smiling shyly. “I really liked it.”  
“Me too.” Blaise answered, smiling back.  
“Maybe we should…”  
“… do it again sometime?”  
“Yeah.”


	5. Chapter 5

“Where were you last night?” Malfoy’s voice pierced sharply through his ears.  
“I don’t know what you mean.” Blaise attempted to show innocence.  
“You weren’t in the dorm.”  
“I felt like doing a bit of walking.”  
“Walking?” The other was not convinced.  
“Yeah.”  
“I’m not buying that.”  
“Well, it’s the truth.”  
“I highly doubt it.”  
“Hey! What are you guys talking about? Blaise sneaked out last night, was it?” Pansy, of course, hearing the conversation, couldn’t help but participate.  
“I didn’t “sneak” out. I just went for a walk.” Why wouldn’t they just leave him be?  
“After curfew?” Draco insisted.  
“Yes! Leave me alone.“  
“You’re hiding something.” The girl smiled at her own words, she loved secrets and, even better, she loved unravelling them.  
“No, I’m not.” Blaise was starting to feel nervous, however, he did not show it.  
“Tell me.” Pansy’s smile had yet to leave her lips.  
“Yeah, Blaise, tell her.” The other boy hit him playfully on the shoulder, his lips twisted into a grin.  
“There’s nothing to tell.” Zabini then walked away from his friends, swallowing nervously as he entered the classroom. 

Divination class always made Neville Longbottom’s stomach twist with nerves. Professor Trelawney was a frightening woman to Neville, her thick framed glasses accentuating her madness. Many students didn’t believe half the things she predicted but he knew there was some truth behind her words as he also knew there was a possibility of being discovered if she looked towards the contents of his teacup. That day she did.  
“Oh my…” Sybill Patricia Trelawney exclaimed as she peeked into her student’s cup.  
Neville swallowed, afraid of what she might reveal.  
“You have a secret, boy.” His teacher’s eyes seemed to grow three times as large.  
“Uh…” Uh oh what did she see?  
“Not for long though… no no no no.”  
“What?” Not for long? What did that mean? The boy bit his lips as he attempted to remain calm, refusing to confirm her words.  
The woman then proceeded towards her next victim, Blaise Zabini, who, not so subtly, threw his teacup onto the ground, spilling the liquid.  
“Sorry!” Blaise laughed forcefully, reaching to grab the fallen object. Trelawney squinted behind her frames for a moment as her eyes followed the boy’s movement, then she turned around, leaving behind her now very relieved student.  
“Why did you do that for?” Pansy Parkinson whispered harshly to her friend.  
“I didn’t do anything.” Blaise’s voice stayed calm.  
Pansy merely stared, her gaze similar to the one their teacher had given him.  
“Did you hear that though? Longbottom’s got a secret.” Malfoy, of course, took the chance to return to previous events.  
“I told you.” The girl sneered.  
Neville’s ears caught the brief conversation, panic striking him. They were talking about him. He clenched his fists, his nails piercing through the skin of his palms. He just hoped for it to be just meaningless Slytherin chatter. 

“Class dismissed!”  
Neville picked up his books, ready to leave, when he was stopped by an unwelcomed voice, Malfoy’s.  
“Hey, Longbottom!”  
The boy attempted to ignore his colleague and moved to flee the room but was once again interrupted.  
“What you’re hiding uh?” Draco continued, placing himself in front of the door, blocking the exit. “Is that a hickey on your neck? Got a girl granny don’t know about?”  
“Highly doubt that.” Pansy smirked, an unpleasant “pff” leaving her lips.  
Neville kept his head low.  
“Leave him alone, Malfoy!” Hermione came to her friend’s rescue, spite written all over her features.  
“We were just talking, Granger. No need to get all smartass.”  
There was quiet anger in the girl’s eyes. It was safe to say that Draco Malfoy pissed the shit out of her.  
“Common, let’s go. There’s no point in this anyway. It’s not like he’s going to talk anytime soon. However, we’ll find out, won’t we?”  
“We definitely will.” Pansy Parkinson released a wicked grin. “Bye, Neville.” The girl waved and the Slytherins were off.  
Blaise looked backwards towards Neville as he left, the boys shared a quick glance.  
“They need to find other hobbies.” Hermione stated. “You ok, Neville?” The other just nodded, the words “we’ll find out” playing in his head.

Neville looked at himself in the mirror. The bathroom was empty. He couldn’t quite figure out how this all came to be. Blaise Zabini and him? How did that ever happened? What did he see in him? And what did Trelawney mean when she said “not for long”? Were they going to be discovered? The boy certainly hoped not, he was already an outcast, a clumsy and awkward bloke, practically a squib to add to his misery, and being gay would definitely not help.  
“Neville?” Blaise called, his voice low.  
He jumped at the sound of his name being called. Blaise had just entered the room, locking the door with a whispered spell as he did. The boy then moved towards Neville, wrapping his arms around him, his front hitting his back.  
“Missed you.” Zabini kissed the other’s neck, moving his way towards the ear. He grinned his growing erection agains’t Neville’s ass, who let a strained moan escape his lips. “Couldn’t help but think how much I wanted to fuck you again. My cock was twitching all day.” Neville swallowed at that remark, his heart pumping in his chest.  
“Tell me how much you want me to.” Blaise whispered seductively.  
“Uh…” The boy was having difficulty forming words.  
“Common, tell me.”  
“I want you to.” He finally answered.  
“How much?” Blaise couldn’t help but smirk at the response.  
“Very much.”  
“And how do you want it?”  
“Hard. I want you to fuck me hard.”  
That was all Zabini needed to hear. He pushed Neville roughly agains’t the sink, lowering him down, and proceeded to remove his trousers and the other’s. Then he let his fingers reach the other boy’s entrance as he prepared him for what was about to come. Neville’s breathing was heavy as he tried to control the sounds that were threatening to escape his lips. It wasn’t long for him to feel something hard pressed agains’t him, wanting to get in. And so it did. Neville gripped the sink tightly for support, feeling as if his legs were about to crumble at any second.  
“Bloody hell, that feels good. So fucking tight.” Blaise moaned the last words into the other boy’s ear, sending shivers all over his body.  
“Please.” Neville attempted to speak.  
“Please what?” Blaise’s voice was filled with confidence and lust.  
“Fuck me. I want…” Neville wasn’t able to finish his sentence, the other had already began thrusting in and out. The boy moaned loudly, the sensation overwhelming his senses. “Harder.” He continued with difficulty but repeated, attempting to make himself clear. “Harder.” Blaise was glad to oblige, his hips moved roughly, hitting the other’s cheeks with force, the sounds that were leaving the boy adding to Zabini’s pleasure. Neville was first to cum. Blaise quickly removed himself from the boy before he himself reached the end.  
“I want you to suck me.” The dark skinned boy said in between breaths.  
Neville’s eyes went wide. He had never done that before, just thinking about it made him extremely nervous. Nonetheless, he nodded and sank to his knees, his breathing yet to settle.  
Blaise was already very close when the boy took him in his mouth, it didn’t take long for the experimental licks and sucks to throw him over the edge. He came with a low controlled groan and looked down to find a very still Neville Longbottom.  
“You ok?” Blaise asked, swallowing before he did so.  
Neville looked up, frowning. “It tastes weird.” He then got up slowly, still a bit shaken by previous events.  
“Sorry.”  
Neville was smiling. “It’s ok.”  
Blaise kissed the corner of his mouth. “You’re amazing. I still can’t believe we’re uh… I’m sorry about Malfoy and Parkinson. You shouldn’t listen to them, they just like making others miserable, it’s in their DNA. Fuck’n assholes if you ask me.”  
“Yeah.” The other boy spoke softly. 

Neville couldn’t help but think of what had happened in that bathroom. It wasn’t that it had been particularly bad, it’s just things were going rather fast and he and Blaise seemed to be headed in a direction of a pure physical relationship, he wasn’t sure how much he wanted that. He also realized that the other boy had never made a single move to, well, touch him down there. Maybe he was actually just straight and thought Neville was just an easy way to relief tension. Yes, that’s probably what it was. There was no way he could actually like him, I mean, he was Neville Longbottom, the most awkward student at Hogwarts, the perfect victim for taunts, also he wasn’t particularly good at anything, well, except maybe Herbology but that wasn’t what one would call a “cool” subject and to add to all that, even though he had lost most of his baby fat, he wasn’t incredibly good looking. No, Blaise Zabini definitely could not like him.  
The boy sat in the Gryffindor common room, his knees up to his chest and his mind racing with unwanted thoughts.  
“You ok there, buddy?” Ron Weasley appeared out of nowhere, a cautious smile on his features.  
“Oh uh… yeah.” Neville looked up at the Weasley boy. For a second he wished to tell him everything, to be able to release all the tension he had been accumulating for the last couple of years, but, of course, he would stay quiet. It was better to keep this a secret, he didn’t want to make his situation any worse than it already was.  
“Wanna share what’s been troubling you? You don’t have to though. It just seems that you don’t talk that much about uh… yourself, I mean…”  
“You just want to find out what my “secret” is.” Neville went straight to the point. Ron Weasley was a curious fellow and he knew professor Trelawney’s words had caught his interest.  
“What? No! I…”  
“I don’t feel like talking.” He lied. He actually truly wanted to finally share this with someone. He just didn’t have any true and reliable friends to do so. Ron would probably just freak out and tell Harry and Hermione. That thought brought tears to his eyes. Yes, to make things worse, he was now on the verge of falling apart in front of a Weasley.  
Ron was about to touch the other’s shoulder but thought better of it and retrieved his hand. “But uh… if you do, you know you can talk to us, right?”  
Us. Of course Weasley had said “us”, he always had Harry and Hermione tagging along. Neville wondered what it was like to actually have friends.  
“I highly doubt that.” The boy spat his words, not even realizing that he did so.  
“Bloody hell, mate! It’s not like we’re not trustworthy. You’ve known us for years.”  
“You guys wouldn’t understand.”  
“Try me.”  
Neville now truly began to cry, his sobs filing the practically empty room. Ron felt awkward all of the sudden, he never knew how to react in this sort of situations, still, this time he actually put his hand on the other boy’s shoulder, who just cried louder.  
“Uh…” That was all Ron was able to come up with.  
“I’m gay.” Neville released the confession without thinking.  
“What?” Ron’s eyes went wide. He was not expecting this turn of events.  
“Gay. Bent. A bloody shirtlifter. A fag, a…” He then resumed crying.  
“Oh. That’s…” Ron removed his hand.  
Neville laughed between sobs. “Of course you wouldn’t understand. You like Hermione, she’s a girl. You’re normal, you’re not…”  
“What? I don’t like Hermione!” Ron’s cheeks turned pink, betraying him.  
“Yeah right.”  
“Mate, I… it’s ok if you’re… you know… like that. There’s nothing wrong with it. It’s a bit weird yeah but… bloody hell, I wasn’t expecting this.” The boy’s eyes were still wide as he ran a hand through his ginger hair.  
“You won’t tell anyone, right?” Neville pleaded.  
“Uh…”  
“I mean, I know you’re gonna tell Harry and Hermione. Contrary to popular belief, I’m not stupid. You guys tell each other everything. This is no different.”  
“They won’t judge you, you know.”  
Neville turned his gaze towards the boy once more. He stared at him for a moment, not sure what to say, but then continued in a small voice. “I guess not.”

Ron Weasley, just like Neville predicted, told his friends, who didn’t truly believe his words at first as it was expected.  
“What? Where did you hear that? You know you can’t believe everything you hear, Ron.” Hermione was the first to intervene.  
“He told me.”  
“Neville Longbottom told you he was gay?” Harry was not buying it.  
“Yeah! That’s what I’m saying! Think about it, Neville’s never had a girlfriend or anything.”  
“So? You know how he is, he’s shy and awkward. That doesn’t mean he’s gay.” The girl said in an attempt to defend the boy.  
“But he told me!” Ron was staring to get irritated.  
“You sure? You didn’t hear wrong?” Harry continued.  
“No! It’s not something you hear wrong! He was very clear and he was crying and…”  
“He was crying?” Hermione said, her voice low as she thought about her friend’s words.  
“Yeah! That’s what I’m saying! He wouldn’t cry like that if it wasn’t true. He was sobbing like hell!”  
“So… Neville’s gay.” Harry was finally starting to believe him.  
“Yes!”  
“That’s his secret, then?” It was getting through to Hermione as well.  
“Yeah.”  
“How long do you think he’s been hiding that?” She was suddenly feeling bad for the boy.  
“I don’t know. Probably for ages now.”  
“Poor Neville, he must think he’s a freak and he’s already the target of so many taunts. This will just worsen his situation.” The girl thought about the Slytherins, if they found out…  
“Yeah, imagine what Malfoy would say and that girl, Parkinson is it? She’ll destroy him.” Harry completed Hermione’s thoughts.  
“I’m gonna talk to him.” She decided.  
“What? Hermione!” Ron intervened.  
“Ron, he needs to know he has our support. He doesn’t have many friends. What if he… you know… does something stupid?” Hermione’s voice was soft.  
“You mean, suicide?” Harry was almost afraid of uttering the word.  
“Yeah.”  
“You’re right. Somebody should talk to him.”  
The girl inhaled, nodding right after.


	6. Chapter 6

Neville was sitting alone, eating his lunch, when Hermione Granger approached him. He had purposely not sat next to the trio, knowing that, by now, they most likely already knew his “secret”. He wasn’t ready to face the stares. Hermione, however, was determined to speak to the boy, even if it meant disturbing his lonesomeness.   
“Hi, Neville. May I sit here?” The girl asked, her voice carrying a friendly tone.  
“Uh… sure.” He truly wanted to be left alone but it seemed that that wasn’t going to happen.  
Hermione sat next to him, a soft smile never leaving her lips.  
“Ron told us last night. You know, about…” The boy inhaled. She continued. “You can talk to me if you want. I won’t tell them anything. I’m not Ron, I can actually keep secrets.”  
Neville stayed quiet.  
“I want you know this doesn’t change anything. You’ll always be Neville.”   
Hermione’s words made Neville laugh with spite, sarcasm overpowering his speech. “Gee thanks. Being Neville Longbottom is so great, you should totally try it.”  
“Don’t be like that. You’re a great guy with amazing qualities and you deserve to be happy. You shouldn’t doubt that.” The girl placed her hand on top of the other’s in a comforting gesture. “Please, Neville, talk to me, I don’t want you to feel that you’re alone because you’re not, I’m here for you.”  
“Thank you.” The boy finally spoke, his voice soft.  
Hermione smiled at the other’s response, happy to have gotten a positive, even if tiny, reaction.

“Hi, Blaise!” Theresa James, a fifth year Slytherin girl, ran towards Blaise Zabini, displaying a big smile.   
“Hey, Theresa.” The boy charmingly smiled back.  
“Could you walk with me for a bit? I wanted to talk to you about something.”   
“Uh… sure.” Blaise got up from his seat, leaving his friends to their lunch. Malfoy arched an eyebrow at him. The boy scratched his neck.  
Theresa made her way towards the hall’s exit with the other following her. She kept looking back at him, smiling as she did. When they finally got out she grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the nearest wall, her lips meeting his. The boy didn’t know how to react. He shouldn’t be surprised, it was pretty obvious why she wanted to be alone with him. Blaise wasn’t completely certain he wanted to be kissed by the Slytherin girl though, it felt nice yes but it didn’t seem right. However, he still closed his eyes as she kissed him.   
Meanwhile, Neville and Hermione had been right behind the two, chatting as they left the room, even though Neville’s attention wasn’t really directed towards Hermione’s words. His eyes kept following Blaise and a girl he didn’t know the name. He saw them, she pulling and kissing him and Blaise not seeming to object to that. Neville’s heart dropped, he paused, stopping his walk, leaving Hermione to wonder what was happening. She looked over to where the other boy’s eyes had landed and frowned.  
“Is everything ok, Neville?”   
Blaise and Theresa pulled away from each other so they could breathe, the girl grabbing his tie. The dark skinned boy looked around as if checking to see if the two of them were alone. He ended up finding Neville Longbottom staring at them before quickly averting his eyes. Blaise’s smile fell. His eyes were glued to the other boy, who was refusing to meet his gaze. Hermione seemed to realize something wasn’t quite right, her mouth closed tightly as she thought.   
“Common, Neville, let’s go.” The Gryffindor girl grabbed her friend’s arm and pulled him away, continuing their walk. When they were finally alone she confronted him. “What was that?”  
“What?” Neville attempted to sound clueless.  
“That. You and Zabini shared a look.”  
“What look? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”  
“Neville.”  
“What, Hermione? It’s no big deal, ok?”  
“Then you’ll have no problem telling me. So, talk.”  
“It’s…” The boy sighed. “You can’t tell anyone, ok? Promise.”  
“Yes, I promise. Now what is it? Did the Slytherins do something? They did, didn’t they? Bloody hell, they think they’re…”  
“No, it’s not that.” Neville looked down, concentrating on his nervous fingers. Hermione waited. He continued. “I… Me and… You won’t say anything, right?” The girl nodded impatiently. The boy swallowed. “Zabini and I we kinda uh… hooked up.”  
Hermione’s eyes grew big. “Do you mean…?”  
“Yeah.”  
“Neville!” She shouted but then, regretting her overreaction, began talking in whispers. “You and Zabini had… sex?” He nodded, confirming her words. “He and his friends have been tormenting you for ages! Why would you ever sleep with him?”  
“He’s not that bad, you know. It’s not like he’s Malfoy.”  
“But he’s friends with him!”  
“So what? I like him, ok? But it’s not like he likes me back anyway. He was snogging that Slytherin girl.” The boy whispers were harsh and his eyes were starting to get wet.   
“Neville, I don’t know what to tell you. He’s an idiot, he’s not capable of liking anyone. He’s just not worth it. I know you can find someone much better.”  
“Yeah sure.” Neville didn’t seem convinced.  
“You h…” Hermione could not finish her sentence, she was suddenly interrupted by the subject of their conversation, Blaise Zabini himself.   
“Hey, Longbottom!” The boy shouted, obviously in his Slytherin persona.   
Hermione eyes were like daggers directed towards him. Blaise looked at her, confusion in his eyes, but then quickly resumed his mission.  
“Wanna talk to you.”  
“About?” Hermione interfered.  
“It’s none of your business, Granger.”  
The girl exchanged a glance with Neville who nodded to her, a signal for her to go. She was gone soon after.  
“So, what is this about?” Neville, able to control his nerves, faced the boy in front of him, an unamused look in his eyes.  
Blaise dropped the act. “Uh… W… what you saw back there, it’s ok for you, right? I mean, it’s not like we’re a thing or couple or uh… boyfriends or whatever.”  
“Sure.” The shorter boy tried to sound as convincing as he possibly could.  
Zabini bit his lip, thinking of what he could possibly say. It was obvious to him that it had bothered Neville. In fact, Blaise himself didn’t feel very proud of his actions. He knew they weren’t dating, they were just shagging or at least they shagged twice, but, nevertheless, he felt bad. He didn’t want to hurt the other boy and, by doing what he did, he ended hurting not only Neville but himself as well.  
“Look, I’m sorry. I… She kissed me and I guess I allowed her to but… maybe, I should had pushed her away. She’s not that great anyway. You’re a way better k…” He stopped himself from revealing too much. However, Neville quickly got what he was saying and his grew wide, accompanied by red cheeks. Blaise Zabini had just almost admitted that he had indeed enjoyed kissing him.   
The boy looked down, a shy smile involuntarily appearing on his lips. He didn’t look up as he said the following words: “I like you, Blaise. I really like you.”  
Blaise inhaled, not expecting Neville to have the courage of saying what he did. He didn’t know what to say, it had caught him completely off guard. The dark skinned boy eyes were fixed on the other. Neville was still looking down, refusing to meet his gaze, he could tell his cheeks were bright red though, it was too obvious not to notice, he was definitely nervous and so was Blaise, who knows he probably shouldn’t have done what he did at that moment. He should have realized that there was a risk someone would see them, they were too exposed. He didn’t think about that though, all he could think of was kissing Neville. Sweet Neville, with his awkward reactions, tainted cheeks, soft skin… Blaise Zabini suddenly pulled the other boy’s face towards his, their lips meeting. It was a sweet kiss, however eagerness was also involved in the act.   
“Bloody hell…” They were suddenly interrupted by the voice of Draco Malfoy and pulled away as fast as they could. Blaise’s eyes turned to his friend in a quick motion, who was looking at him with a mixture of shock and disgust. He did not know what to say, no words were about to leave his lips.  
“You and Longbottom? That’s… bloody hell.” Malfoy ran towards, what he assumed, the spot where Pansy was, probably to tell her what he had just discover. Blaise felt like running too, to stop his friend, to explain to him what had “truly” occurred, to lie until he was safe from the stares and taunts that were sure to come.   
“Blaise.” Neville felt a sudden urge to cry. Draco Malfoy had just seen them kissing and Draco was definitely going to tell. In a matter of a few hours, everyone would know. The other boy looked at him, desperation apparent in his eyes. The secret was out.


	7. Chapter 7

Blaise made his way towards his dorm after many attempts at calming Neville Longbottom, who was still freaking out about the whole ordeal.  
The boy let his body fall onto the bed. It was still early, four o’clock, no one was around, they were all probably in Potions listening to the usual remarks Snape threw at Potter. His hands flew towards his face. Blaise sighed, his whole body wanted to shake but he refused to give in. He just laid there, unwelcomed thoughts overpowering his mind until he finally fell asleep.

Blaise woke a few hours later, the sound of the door opening being the reason. With a quick motion, he sat on the mattress, seeing who had just entered the room. Draco Malfoy was there and he looked rather uncomfortable to say the least, the blond boy had dropped his gaze as soon as he felt the eyes of the other upon him.  
“Draco.” Blaise attempted the beginning of a conversation but was ignored. He repeated, this time more fiercely. “Draco!”  
Malfoy’s head suddenly went up. “What?!” He seemed irritated but his discomfort was still apparent in his voice.  
“Uh…” Zabini didn’t really plan what he was going to say next but he knew they would have to talk eventually. Friends or not, they were roommates most of all and things might become quite awkward if the issue was not resolved. “What you…”  
Malfoy interrupted. “What? What’s the excuse? I know what I saw, Zabini. You’re bent.”  
“I’m not…” Blaise took a deep breath and then continued. “I’m not bent. I like girls, I just… damnit… I like Neville too, ok?” The confession felt weird coming from his lips, it was true though, he did like Neville or else they would have never had…  
“Neville? You call him Neville now? Bloody hell, why him anyway? He’s so…” Draco Malfoy stopped himself before going much further.  
“So what? I’m sick of your bullshit! Neville is way better than you’ll ever be!”  
They were starting to raise their voices, both of them.  
“How can you say that? He’s an idiot!”  
“Fuck you, Malfoy! You think you’re so bloody great. News flash! You’re not. You’re just a spoiled little piece of shit!”  
Draco took a step forward, his fist ready for the blow. He stopped himself though, probably because he knew that, if there was to be a fist fight, he would probably be the one to loose. He breathed soundly instead. “I’m not gonna fight with you, Blaise. If you wanna be with ugh… Neville, go for it but don’t expect me to be pleased and definitely don’t expect me to stay friends with you. There’s no way I’m gonna be seen hanging out with a bloody shirtlifter.”  
“Says the one who’s been begging for Potter’s cock for ages.” Blaise spat, ignoring the consequences.  
“What did you just say?!” Draco’s face turned red as he shouted.  
“You heard me.” Zabini felt a smirk appear on his lips.  
This time Malfoy did rush towards him as he attempted to punch him straight in the jaw. He failed though.  
“Fuck you.” That was always the blond boy could manage after the short humiliating moment.  
Blaise laughed at his face with spite and moved towards the door. Not soon after, Draco was alone, his breathing heavy and his face still tomato red.

Neville was bitting his nails, a habit he had given up many years ago that was now finding its way back. He sat on a corridor that led to the Slytherin Dungeon. He didn’t know where else to go and was hopelessly hoping that Blaise would appear at any moment. He had been there for about thirty minutes when finally he did arrive.  
His steps were quick. Blaise seemed to be angry but still, somehow, content. He stopped when he saw the other boy, who was now clumsily getting up from the floor. “Neville, what are you…?”  
“I… I didn’t know where else to go.” Neville’s voice was small, he was still being affected by the previous event.  
Blaise moved towards him, he seemed calmer now, and did the first thing he could think of. He kissed the boy. Neville’s lips didn’t move though.  
“What’s wrong?” The dark skinned boy was not expecting Neville’s lack of response.  
“Have you spoken to Malfoy yet?”  
“Uh… yeah. Why?” Why was Neville talking about Malfoy. Less talking, more kissing.  
“I just… Did he tell someone?” The boy continued quietly.  
“I don’t know. He must have told Pansy I guess.”  
“What did he say?”  
“It doesn’t matter.” Blaise moved in for another kiss but was pushed back. The boy sighed. “I yelled some stuff, he yelled some stuff and then I just ended up saying he wanted Potter’s cock up his ass.”  
“What?!” Neville was startled by the remark. “You did not say that!”  
“Actually, I did.” Blaise seemed pleased.  
“Now Malfoy’s definitely going to tell!” Neville began to hyperventilate.  
“Calm down.” Blaise placed his hands on top of the other’s shoulders in a comforting gesture. “It’s not like it’s not true anyway.”  
“What?! I’m sorry but I highly doubt that Malfoy wants Harry. He hates him!”  
“Pfff! That’s just what he wants people to think.” The conversation wasn’t getting anywhere, so Blaise took the opportunity to go back to the truly important issue. “But, all that matters, is that I shut him up. You don’t know how long I’ve wanted to do that. You should have seen the look on his face. Anyway, if he tells people, just know I’m here, Neville. You’re not facing it alone.”  
“Really?”  
“Yeah.” Blaise’s smile was soft. “Now, can we finally kiss for a bit?”  
Neville nodded and moved towards the other, his arms around Blaise’s neck and his eyes closed.  
“I really like you too, Neville Longbottom.” Blaise whispered during the kiss, earning a more eager response.  
Their lips were soon to move more passionately, the dark skinned boy ending up pushing Neville towards the nearest wall as he pressed his body agains’t the other’s.  
“Blaise, I don’t think we…” Neville attempted to speak but was soon interrupted. He had to push the other body away in order to be heard. “It’s just that uh… this doesn’t seem like the most appropriate place to…”  
“Oh. Yeah, you’re right.” Blaise pulled away but not before smiling and giving a slow peck on the other boy’s cheek, who blushed madly at the gesture.


	8. Chapter 8

They had been right of course, Malfoy had told everybody. In fact, he did it in the worse way possible. He had shouted it during dinner, not long after his and Blaise’s outburst. People were quick to believe his words. Longbottom and Zabini were sitting together at the Gryffindor table, something that was surely suspicious. Whispers grew and laughs too. Neville wanted to disappear, he had been dreading this moment for a while and now it had finally arrived.  
Blaise looked towards the boy who had just become officially his “boyfriend” and, seeing his despair, had made his blood boil. So, he got up from his chair and shouted “Hey, assholes! Neville is my boyfriend. So what? Don’t you have anything better to talk about? Are your lives really that miserable? Fuck all of you! And be careful ‘cause, next thing you know, I’m going to start throwing some punches!” Blaise then returned to his seat, taking a rough bite of his mashed potatoes, but not without first grabbing Neville’s tie and pulling him for a kiss. He had had it, he didn’t care anymore, he wanted everyone to see. The other boy had blushed fiercely as was expected.  
Ron was at the other end of the table, next to his two friends. He already knew Neville was gay but him dating Zabini had definitely been a surprise.  
“Guys, Neville and Zabini are a thing! How’s that even possible?! They’re suppose to hate each other!” The redhead whispered harshly.  
“Yeah, it’s weird…” Harry’s eyes were still wide open from the shock.  
“Neville must be the uh… you know… bottom.” Ron couldn’t help himself from saying what he assumed everyone was thinking.  
“Ron!” Hermione, who had been awfully quiet, broke her silence. “You can’t say those things!”  
“Sorry sorry! I was just...”  
“She’s right, Ron. Please don’t put images in our heads. This is strange enough as it is.” Harry intervened and resumed eating. The trio continued as well, silently until the next topic came. 

“So, what is this room again?” Blaise asked as he glanced at his surroundings.  
“The room of requirement. It changes according to a person’s needs.”  
“That’s really cool.” The dark skinned boy’s smile grew.  
“Uh…” Neville attempted to speak but was soon interrupted.  
“I see there’s a bed over there.” The smile was still on Blaise’s lips. “Horny, Longbottom?”  
“Shut up.” The boy’s cheeks turned strawberry red.  
“Make me.” Blaise put on his seductive voice as he took a hold of the other before him. Their lips met.  
It didn’t took long for the kiss to become wilder and for Neville to be pushed onto the mattress. Both boys moaned into each other’s mouths.  
Blaise began moving his hips agains’t the other’s. They were now both fully erect. He then took the opportunity to move his hands towards Neville’s trousers, unzipping them slowly in a teasing manner.  
“Blaise.”  
“Shh.” The boy did not want his boyfriend to speak, he simply wanted for him to enjoy what was to come. Blaise Zabini was about to do something he had never imagined himself doing, he was about to suck a boy’s cock. He took off all Neville’s layers of clothing that laid on his torso, uncovering the skin underneath. His mouth then travel downwards, passing through the neck, chest, stomach and finally… The other boy gasped, he had never experienced that before. It felt good, it felt really good. Blaise was licking and then sucking and then licking again. Neville’s moans filled the room.  
“Wait!” The pale boy stopped the action, his breathing heavy.  
“What?” Blaise looked up.  
“I don’t want it to end here. I want you to…” Neville was having trouble saying the words.  
“Put my cock up your ass?” A wicked smile appeared on Zabini’s lips.  
“Don’t say it like that!”  
Blaise laughed and moves upwards. He kissed the boy’s neck slowly and passionately, earning one more moan in return as his hands caressed the other’s ass.  
“I have something.” Neville attempted to get his words out. “I’ve been doing research and there’s a plant that produces a liquid that is used for this kind of thing. Totally harmless. I… I have right here.” The boy then took a little bottle from the pocket of his pants.  
“So that’s what that was!”  
“Yeah… it’s basically uh… lube.”  
“Bloody hell, your amazing.” Blaise resumed their kissing, tongues battling agains’t each other.  
Neville quickly removed the other’s clothes and his own trousers which were still covering a section of his legs. He was getting ready to turn around but was stopped.  
“No. I want to see you.” Blaise stated.  
The other boy swallowed. “Uh… ok.”  
Blaise Zabini sat and opened up his boyfriend’s legs, the boy in front suddenly becoming shy. He took the bottle from his hand and opened it, throwing the cap onto the distance. He then began applying the liquid to the other’s entrance who flinched in response.  
“It’s cold.” Neville admitted.  
Blaise laughed at the sentence and continued to prepare the boy. Then he pulled him by the legs towards himself and positioned his erection. “Ready?” He asked. The other only nodded. He got in. The lube definitely helped. Even though it still wasn’t completely painless, it was much less uncomfortable. Soon, both were releasing sounds of pleasure.  
“Fuck.” Blaise muttered, holding his boyfriend in place as he pounded into him roughly. He looked at the other’s face and couldn’t help but smirk at the sight, it must have been the hottest vision he had ever encountered. Neville hand was moving up and down his cock, increasing his own pleasure.  
They both, surprisingly, came at the same time, Longbottom’s shout filling the room.  
“You’re so freaking loud.” Blaise whispered into the boy’s ear not long after.  
“I’m not.” Neville attempted to defend himself from the taunt.  
“Don’t worry, I love it.” The dark skinned boy placed his hand on his boyfriend’s cheek, pulling his face towards his, and kissed him slowly.

It was 3:30 a.m. and Draco Malfoy laid awake on his bed. The whole situation was fucked up. His best friend was dating a guy and didn’t seem to be that affected with other people’s thoughts on the subject. If it was with him, well, he would never uh… “come out”. No way. Draco Malfoy would never do that. Just imagining what others would say scared the shit out of him. Not that he was bent. He wasn’t. He never really had a girlfriend before but that didn’t mean he was… Girls were attractive. They were. He could appreciate a woman’s beauty. But did he want to fuck one? That thought scared him. He had tried many times jacking off with images of girls moaning in his mind but, the truth is, he never had truly hit an orgasm with that, he was only able to reach it when he thought about… That didn’t mean anything though! People think loads of stuff when masturbating and they don’t mean a thing. It’s just wacking!  
Malfoy would not be able to fall asleep, his mind was racing. Was he… was he gay? He couldn’t be! Blaise had talked about him wanting Potter. He did not want Potter! That’s ridiculous! He was… Draco felt like hyperventilating. He grabbed his wand and released a silencing spell in a quick motion. Then he let himself fall apart. Tears were rushing down his eyes. He was gay. He did like Potter. He had repressed this for so long. All the nasty slurs he had thrown at the other had just been a cover up, he knew that and he could not accept it. What would his father say? He cried louder, burying himself in his sheets. He would have to get a girlfriend, marry her and pretend he’s not bent. He could not come out! Never! And he definitely could never admit his feelings for uh… the “Boy Who Lived”. How would he ever go back to his usual self now that he had admitted this to himself? Damn it! Why did Blaise and Neville had to be together? Why did they have to make him think these things? He was happy as he was! Deluded. 

Blaise glared at his “ex”friend as he organized his books. Why was he taking so long? Surely it wasn’t that complicated? Draco had been weird with him lately, he had stopped with the taunts and the shouts of disgust, he was now strangely quiet. Was he up to something? It didn’t seem like he was. Blaise had also noticed that the other boy had stopped talking to Pansy. He now walked along the corridors by himself and brushed the girl off whenever she attempted a conversation. Yes, it was definitely strange.  
Blaise Zabini continued his course of action and left the room, moving towards Transfiguration. He met Neville on the way. They walked together hand in hand for the rest of the journey, the taller boy threatening whoever attempted to mess with them.  
They sat together that day, exchanging glances and whispers from time to time, of course earning an eyebrow raise from professor McGonagall. During class, however, other events were taking place.  
“What is it, Malfoy?” Harry spat, in a sharp whisper, towards the blond boy.  
Draco had been glaring at Potter practically during the whole class. The trio was soon to notice.  
“N… nothing.” Malfoy’s head shot downwards, his eyes now fully focused on his book.  
“He’s been acting weird.” Hermione whispered almost inaudibly towards her friends, who took a few seconds to understand her words.  
“Malfoy’s probably planning something. That’s why he keeps looking at Harry. Probably doing research.” Ron concluded.  
“Yeah…” Harry’s mind seemed to be somewhere else. He then changed the subject, even though it was probably not the best time to speak of it. “Uh Ron?”  
“Hmm.” The redhead was taking notes, his handwriting imperceptible as always.  
“I’m uh… dating Ginny.”  
“What?!?” Ron shouted, startled at the revelation. His best friend was dating his sister! Bloody hell…  
“Mr. Weasley!” McGonagall scolded the boy.  
“Sorry, professor!” He then resumed the conversation, his voice in a whisper, right after McGonagall turned her back. “You’re dating my sister?!”  
Harry nodded.  
“But she… she’s my sister!” He was still shocked and having difficulty organizing his speech.  
Even though they were whispering, they were still caught by their teacher. “Mr. Weasley! Mr. Potter! You’ve just earned a night of detention!”  
Both boys let their heads fall onto the table in frustration as Draco Malfoy inhaled deeply, he had heard the conversation.

“Blaise.”  
“Yeah?”  
They were snogging in front of everyone. This made Neville extremely nervous, even if, this time, there was no tongue involved.  
“They are all staring.”  
“Let them stare.” Blaise moved his lips towards his boyfriend’s cheek and then back to his mouth. Neville closed his eyes and let himself melt onto the other boy.  
“I wish I could sleep with you.” Blaise whispered.  
“You already did.”  
“No, I mean actual sleep. I want to be close to you at night.”  
“We’re close during the day.” Neville gripped his boyfriend more tightly.  
“That’s not enough.” The boy replied, deepening the kiss.  
They were interrupted.  
“Uh… Blaise?”  
Both boys stopped their action, looking up to find a very uncomfortable Draco Malfoy scratching the back of his neck.  
“May I talk to you for a second?” Malfoy’s voice was not welcomed.  
“About?” Blaise’s question was filled with spite.  
“It’s uh… private.” The blond swallowed, still scratching, his neck probably red by now.  
Blaise sighed and made sure to peck his boyfriend on the lips just to mess with Malfoy before going with the boy to a more secluded place, leaving Neville to wait.  
“What is it?” Blaise’s voice did not have a friendly tone.  
“I…”  
Something happened then that made Zabini’s eyes widen with surprise. Draco Malfoy started to cry.  
“Fuck!” Draco shouted to himself as he covered his face with his hands, sobs taking over his body. At the sight, the other boy looked around to see if they were alone. They were. Still, he pulled Malfoy towards the nearest storage room and whispered a silencing spell.  
“Draco, what the…”  
“I’m sorry, I just… I… I had to talk to you. You’re the only one that… Fuck!” The blond boy was having difficulty speaking due to the crying.  
Blaise didn’t know how to react. “Is this about uh… Potter?” He attempted.  
“What? How did you… does everyone know? No! That can’t be! No one is supposed to know!” Draco panicked, crying even harder.  
“I saw him with Ginny. Is that why you’re upset?”  
“No! I mean uh… yes but that’s not all. I’m a bloody shirtlifter, Blaise! I’m worse than you. I don’t like girls, I’m gay! And I’m in love with that idiot Potter! What am I going to do? Help me, please!” Malfoy grabbed Blaise by the shoulders and shook him harshly.  
“Hey! Draco, stop!” The dark skinned boy shouted. The blond stopped. “It’s ok. I knew that you… I didn’t want to uh… Honestly, what do you want me to do? Do you want me to talk to Potter? I can speak with him if you like.”  
“What?! No! You can’t talk to him! He hates me! There’s no doubt about that. And he’s with Ginny! He’s not gay. He would never be with me.” The boy’s sobs had stopped, though his tears and distress continued.  
“Fine. I don’t know what I can do. And, besides, I should be fucking angry with you! You were an asshole!” Blaise couldn’t help but recall what the other had shouted at dinner.  
“I know, I know, and I’m sorry. I was just upset and I wanted to make you pay. I didn’t know why back then but now I know… It was because I’m like Longbottom.” He paused. “I don’t want to be like Longbottom.”  
“There’s nothing wrong with Neville, asswipe!” Blaise was quick to defend his boyfriend.  
“Sorry, that’s not what I was trying to say. I just… I don’t want to be gay, Blaise.” The blond boy seemed broken. This made the other sigh and calm down.  
“It’s not that bad, Draco. You shouldn’t hate yourself for it.”  
“But everyone is going to laugh at me if they find out. You know I’m not the most liked person at this school. They will destroy me.” Malfoy kept his eyes low.  
Blaise knew Draco’s words were true. If he and Neville were having issues with coming out, he could only imagined what would happen to Malfoy. Most people did, in fact, hate him.  
“And my father…” Draco’s crying returned. The other boy placed a hand on his shoulder in a comforting gesture.  
“It’s going to be alright.” Blaise didn’t know what else to say, he just hoped that it was enough.  
Blaise Zabini was not expecting what happened next. Actually, he did not expect anything like this to happen at all. After crying, admitting he was gay, crying a bit more, Draco Malfoy squeezed him in a tight hug.  
“Thank you.” Draco whispered, his voice hoarse from crying.

“So? What was that about?” Neville asked after his boyfriend had finally returned.  
“Just Malfoy being Malfoy.” Blaise shrugged.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After a moment of deliberation, I did decide to add a little Drarry.  
> Still not sure if it's one sided or not but we'll see ;)


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m feeling sorry for Malfoy, so this chapter will be a bit more focused on him.  
> Hope you’re not too upset :(  
> There’s still a little bit of Neville/Blaise though!

Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley were definitely a couple. Draco had caught them kissing many times and in various places. He could only imagine what they had been doing in the Gryffindor tower at nighttime. Malfoy wanted to cry each time he thought about them together. Why was this affecting him so much though? From what he could tell, she was Harry’s first real girlfriend but, still, he had never felt such jealousy and desperation towards the other boy. Admitting his feelings had been the worse thing he could have possibly done to his sanity.  
He was in the bathroom looking at himself in the mirror when the encounter happened. Trapped in his thoughts, Draco didn’t hear the door open and was startled by a sigh from the other boy. He didn’t have to turn around to see who it was. Right there, reflected in front of him, stood the figure of Harry Potter.  
“Before you start with another one of your nasty remarks, just know that I simply want to pee and I’m not in the mood to chat. So fuck off.” Harry was the first to speak, he didn’t want to give Malfoy a chance to spit his poison.  
The blond boy didn’t say anything, he just stared at the brunette’s reflection.  
Potter made his way towards the urinal and did what he came to do. Malfoy diverted his gaze down, he didn’t want to be perceived as a creep. Harry then went to wash his hands in the only available faucet, right next to the blond, who looked again at the other, thinking it was not noticeable. He was wrong. Even though Harry’s eyes were focused on his own hands, he could still feel Malfoy’s gaze upon him.  
“Yes?” The brunette looked in the other boy’s direction. Malfoy lowered his eyes.  
“Nothing.” The blond boy’s voice was soft, it was as if he was too afraid to be heard.  
Harry didn’t seemed convinced, he raised his voice. “You’ve been acting strange lately, Malfoy. Why is that? Planning something, are you? Well, bring it on! It’s not like it’s something I can’t handle. Your tricks are never that good anyway.”  
Draco didn’t answer that, which was something that made the other boy a bit confused and, well, uncomfortable.  
“I can’t believe I’m saying this…” Potter muttered to himself as he realized something was definitely odd and continued awkwardly. “Is everything uh… alright? I mean, with… with you?”  
Malfoy was not expecting the question. His eyes grew wide, he swallowed and looked over at the other once more. “It’s…” The boy began but stopped himself for a moment, he could feel the tears gathering in his eyes once again. Oh no… he was about to cry. And in front of Potter of all people! Bloody hell! When did he become such a crybaby? He was a Malfoy, dammit!  
“Uh…” Harry had noticed his tears.  
“Leave please.” The blond pleaded, sobs appearing soon after.  
“Malfoy…”  
“Please…” Draco was falling apart once more and did not want the object of his affections to see it.  
Harry Potter was currently looking at Draco Malfoy crying. Draco Malfoy was crying! Right in front of him! What was he going to do? Put his arm around him? No! He was bloody Malfoy! He was definitely not going to comfort his “enemy”. Though he did feel bad for him…  
“I bet you want to laugh, don’t you?” Malfoy was able to say between sobs.  
“No, I…” The brunette did not know what to say.  
“Go laugh it up with your friends and leave me alone.” The blond continued in the same tone as before but then shouted when his words didn’t get any result. “Leave!”  
Harry finally did as he was told. Draco was all by himself.

That had been a quite peculiar experience. It had come as a surprise to Harry that Malfoy was able to break down like that, especially in front of him. It had certainly been awkward but he now knew that there was more to Malfoy than meets the eye.  
Harry tried to brush the other boy off his thoughts. He was about to meet Ginny, his girlfriend. He still could not believe it, he had a girlfriend! And she was Ginny Weasley! Who knew things would turn out like that…  
“Hey.”  
“Hi.” Ginny smiled widely as she moved forward to meet her boyfriend’s lips. They kissed tenderly for a few seconds and then pulled apart.  
“Missed you.” The girl said, the smile yet to leave her face.  
“Me too.” Now it was Harry’s turn to kiss.  
“Bloody hell! I don’t wanna see that! Break it off!” Ron Weasley appeared shortly after, a look of disgust apparent on his features as he pulled the two apart with his own hands.  
“Ron!” The redheaded girl protested.  
“You’re still my little sister! No way I’m gonna watch you snog my best friend!”  
“What’s going on?” Hermione had arrived.  
“Ron is being a douche! That’s what’s happening!” Ginny continued angrily.  
“You two were snogging right in front of me!”  
“They’re together, Ron. Of course they’re gonna kiss.” Hermione took the couple’s side.  
“That’s right, together.” Harry smiled widely and pulled his girlfriend closer.  
“I’m out of here!” Ron shouted desperately and ran off.  
“Ron!” Hermione followed the boy. They were alone.  
“Just had a weird encounter with Malfoy.” Harry confessed quietly after the other two left.  
“A weird encounter? What does that mean?”  
“Well, he was in the bathroom when I went there and he was acting strange and uh… I confronted him and he, well, he started crying.” To talk about this was awkward for Harry but he still wanted to share it with someone.  
“Crying? Malfoy?” The girl was not believing her boyfriend’s words.  
“Yes, a lot. He was sobbing, Ginny.”  
“Sobbing?!” The redhead raised her voice, almost shouting.  
“Ginny!”  
“Sorry!” The girl went back to whispering. “Why was he…”  
“Don’t know, he didn’t tell me.”  
“That’s weird. I mean, not him not telling you, just the whole crying thing. I didn’t think he was capable of that.”  
“It seems that he is.”  
Ginny elbowed Harry shortly after he spoke, nodding towards his right side. The boy looked in that direction to find Draco Malfoy in the background walking lonesomely. It was difficult to see his face clearly due to the distance but he could imagine that his eyes were probably still swollen and his voice still coarse. 

Malfoy splashed water onto his face. A few minutes after Potter’s departure, his crying had stopped, leaving him with red eyes and stained cheeks. He attempted to reduce the redness. He guessed it was good enough, not perfect yes, but good enough.  
He adjusted his clothes and left the bathroom, his head low.  
Shortly after, he found Ginny and Harry kissing. He ignored them right away and continued walking until he reached the Slytherin Dungeon. Classes had already finished for the day, there was only dinner ahead but Draco wasn’t hungry, he just wanted to be left alone.  
The blond entered the dorm and looked around, making sure there was nobody there. There wasn’t. He then placed his bag slowly onto the floor, right next to his bed, and sat on the mattress. He closed his eyes and breathed in an attempt to stop dark thoughts from overpowering his mind. He failed to do so. The sobs came first, then the tears. Everything was worse this time, so bad that he had forgotten how to breathe. The boy was struggling to get air into his lungs. With difficulty, he managed somehow to cast the spell that would prevent others from hearing him and, after doing so, he screamed. He thought that maybe that would make him feel better but it ended up worsening the situation. Draco grabbed his wand again and pointed it towards his wrist. He knew he was being stupid, he knew that, but still he just wanted everything to stop. Maybe the solution was to stop himself, to stop his existence. There was a string of light coming out from the object in his hands as a red vertical line appeared in his wrists. First the left one, then the right. It was painful, yet there was some joy in seeing the blood rush down his arms. The boy smiled. It was over, he was going to be free now. He let his body fall onto the mattress, closed his eyes and waited for eternal sleep to come.

They had just finished eating.  
Blaise kissed his boyfriend. It was an innocent kiss. They were in front of other students, it wasn’t that appropriate to start snogging madly. Fortunately, the insults had lessened. Their relationship was starting to become old news, people were finally getting bored of their own taunts.  
“Summer is almost here.” Blaise spoke, breaking the kiss. “You have to give me your address.”  
Neville felt panic rushing through him. Blaise meeting his grandmother? What if she found out they were together? Augusta Longbottom was not stupid, she was sure to realize their relationship was more than just friendship.  
Blaise noticed the other’s stress. “Common, I want to meet your grandma, I know she lives with you. And your parents, of course.”  
Parents… I guess they hadn’t really spoken of their lives outside school grounds. Of course he didn’t know.  
“I just live with gran.” Neville confessed.  
“Oh… I’m sorry, I didn’t know that. How old were you when your parents uh… died?” The dark skinned boy assumed but was soon to regret his words. “You don’t have to tell me though! It’s your business. I just want to know more about you, that’s all.”  
“They’re not dead.” The boy’s voice was low.  
Blaise furrowed his eyebrows. Neville continued. “They’re at St Mungos.”  
“Oh… What happened? What do they…?  
“Can we not talk about this, please?” Neville seemed to be uncomfortable.  
“Uh… sure. I’m sorry.” Blaise returned to the previous subject. “Still want to visit you though. It’s a long time to be apart.” He attempted a smile. His boyfriend gave a small smile in return and kissed Blaise gently on the lips.  
“I should go back to the dorm.” Neville spoke. “Didn’t sleep much last night.”  
“Sure. I’ll go too.” Blaise suddenly realized what that sounded like. “To my own dorm that is.”  
They said their goodbyes and each went their own way.

Blaise opened the bedroom door roughly, not caring about the noise he was making. It was only nine-thirty, he doubted anyone was there already. He was wrong though. He saw him right away. Draco Malfoy was lying in his bed, sleeping, back agains’t the mattress. Blaise sighed, he was hoping to be alone. The common room was probably full and he had to do some reading. Exams were coming up and the boy had, so far, neglected his studies.  
His thoughts suddenly froze when he turned on the light. How didn’t he see it before? Draco’s arms were cover with blood and his mattress was horribly stained.  
Blaise ran quickly towards the body. The first thing he did was check for a pulse. The blond boy was still alive. He sighed in relief, however, Blaise’s heart was pumping fast. He could not panic. There wasn’t much time, he had to bring Draco to the infirmary quickly. And so, he grabbed his friend, pulling him away from the bed, left the room and attempted to walk as fast as he could. He passed through his Slytherin colleagues, who gasped when they saw Malfoy’s state. Blaise ignored the stares, releasing a loud “Let me through!” from time to time. He reached his destination a few minutes later.  
“Madam Pomfrey!” The boy shouted, the other still in his arms.  
The woman was soon to appear, gasping just like the others but acting fast to help.  
“Put him on the bed. Now!”  
Blaise did what he was told.  
“Poor boy, poor boy…” Pomfrey kept repeating to herself as she analyzed the damage. She then ran, disappearing for a few seconds and returning with a cream of some sort. She didn’t bother to clean the wound first, she simply rubbed the thick liquid gently onto the cuts and waited.  
“How long has been like this?” The woman spoke.  
“I… I don’t know. I just opened the door and… and… uh… he was…” Blaise was struggling to speak.  
Madam Pomfrey sighed and proceeded to clean the wound after disappearing and returning once more. She caressed the unconscious boy’s head when she was done in a gentle motion. “Draco Malfoy… who knew he…” She whispered almost inaudibly.  
“Is he going to be alright?” The anxious boy asked.  
The sixty year old nodded. “He’s going to be just fine. He'll have two nasty scares though. There isn’t much I can do about that.”  
“Everyone at the Dungeon saw him when I was rushing to bring him here. I guess everyone will be talking about this for a while.“ Blaise seemed calmer.  
There was a moment of silence, broken by Pomfrey. “We’ll have to notify his parents, of course.”  
“His parents?! No, you can’t do that! Draco would never want that.” This was true.  
“He’ll not be able to hide it for long. Summer holiday is almost here and I doubt he’ll be wearing long sleeves. Like I said, the scars…” Pomfrey sighed. “It’s better that way.” She then continued. “I’m going to speak to Dumbledore now. He should know what has happened. Will you stay here with mr. Malfoy? He’ll be awake soon.”  
Blaise nodded and then she was gone.

When Draco Malfoy woke up it was already morning. Blaise was sat on a chair by his side, his eyes closed. The boy was sleeping.  
Draco felt extremely weak and took a few seconds to realize where he was. When did, his mind brought him back to last nights events. If he had any energy left in him, he would have panicked.  
Madam Pomfrey appeared shortly after, a small friendly smile on her lips as she approached the blond boy’s bed.  
“How are you feeling, my dear?” Her voice was soft.  
“Am I alive?” Draco knew it was a stupid question to ask, he obviously was, he just felt to ashamed to say anything else.  
“Yes.” The smile did not leave the woman’s lips. She continued. “Dumbledore has spoken to your parents. They will be here early in the afternoon.”  
“But…”  
He was interrupted.  
“No buts, mr. Malfoy. It’s for the best.”  
Draco’s stomach tightened. How would he face his parents? He shouldn’t have done what he did. Maybe he’s the one who’s an idiot. Now he would have to deal with the consequences.


	10. Chapter 10

Neville ran towards Blaise who was sitting at the breakfast table, eating silently. The conversation with Malfoy that morning had been painful. The boy seemed to be mad at him but Blaise knew he was actually just scared and filled with regret. Of course, he would never wish to show that to anyone.  
“Blaise!” The pale boy shouted, waking his boyfriend from his thoughts. “Is it true?” His breathing was heavy from the run, his voice seemed calmer though. The other boy just nodded, his eyes not leaving his plate. Neville continued, sitting down as he did. “Why would Malfoy do that? It doesn’t make any sense.”  
“There’s more to Draco than you know, Neville.” Blaise finally spoke.  
“I see that now.” Neville bit his lip as he thought. “Do you know why? Why he…”  
“Yeah.” That was Blaise’s answer.  
“Oh. You don’t have to tell me. It’s between you and him.”  
“Yeah.” He repeated.  
Neville kissed his boyfriend’s cheek. “And you? Are you ok? I mean, you were the one who found him. It must have been…”  
“I’m fine.” Blaise attempted a smile, which the other boy knew was fake, and kissed Neville’s lips.

At the Gryffindor table was the trio. They had heard the news of course, everyone had.  
“Draco bloody Malfoy! Can you believe it? The jackass has a heart!” Ron was shocked but, as usually, couldn’t find the right words to express it.  
“Ron! Don’t say that! This is serious. Malfoy tried to kill himself.” Hermione intervened, the last sentence in a whisper.  
Harry didn’t say a thing. Yesterday afternoon's event playing in his head. He felt guilty. He should had done something, he should had realized the seriousness of the situation, he shouldn’t have left Malfoy alone.  
“You ok, Harry?” The wild haired girl asked, her eyebrows furrowed.  
“Uh?” The boy woke up from his thoughts. “Yeah, I’m just… I found Malfoy yesterday. He was… Let’s just say he was in a bad state.”  
“A bad state?” Hermione continued her mission to gather information.  
“Yeah, he started to cry and begging me to leave and I did. I left him.” He placed his head on the table, covering it with his arms and breathed, then continued. “I knew something was wrong, I just didn’t know how wrong.” Harry got up and left the table, leaving Hermione and Ron to wonder what just happened. 

Lucius Malfoy stood by the side of the bed his son was lying. He remained silent and inexpressive, what he was thinking difficult to understand. Narcissa Malfoy was a different case. Tears were running down her face, sobs she was attempting to control appearing from time to time.  
“My boy…” The woman muttered, holding her son’s hand tightly. Draco’s eyes were low, he didn’t know what to say.  
Narcissa proceeded to kiss her son’s forehead repeatedly. Her crying increasing as she spoke. “Why did you do it, Draco? What have we done wrong?”  
“You did nothing wrong.” His voice was soft. He felt better than before, health wise that is. The reason behind the state of his words was merely shame.  
“We’ve loved you and gave you everything. How could you do this to us?” She continued. Lucius stayed silent.  
“You wouldn’t understand.” Draco felt like crying as well.  
“We could try. Just tell us why. Please, we’re your parents. We want to help you.”  
This time the boy did cry. Lucius shifted his body slightly in discomfort.  
“I can’t.” Draco couldn’t tell them. He didn’t want his mother to stop loving him and his father, how would he react?  
“Please, son.” Narcissa grabbed her son’s other hand, holding both of them in a strong grip.  
“I’m…” The crying wasn’t allowing the boy to speak. He just hoped for her to give up, to tell him he didn’t have to reveal anything.  
“We’re here, baby.” She looked over at her husband, reprehending his lack of motion. “Lucius!” The man then took a step towards his wife and put his hand on top of her shoulder in what appeared to be a very stiff comforting gesture.  
“Don’t make me. Please, don’t make me.”  
“We have to know. We can only help you if you talk to us.”  
“Uh…” Lucius opened his mouth to speak. Draco and his mother turned their gaze towards him, both suddenly stopping their crying. The man was now feeling the pressure. “Tell us, son.” His voice was surprisingly soft, he had been affect by the whole situation after all.  
The blond boy hesitated and attempted to keep his voice straight as he blurted out the words “I’m gay.” The sobs continued even stronger.  
Both of his parent’s eyes widened. They were not expecting that.  
A dreadful silence filled the room. Draco feared the worse. It was not long for Lucius Malfoy to leave the infirmary. The boy’s eyes followed his father’s exit and then turned to his mother whose expression had yet to change.  
“Mom?”  
She spoke at last. “Your father… he’ll come around. We love you very much, Draco.”  
Narcissa hugged her son.

Draco Malfoy walked through the corridor with his head low, unconsciously pulling his sleeves as he tried to conceal the already hidden bandages. He could feel the students' stares on him and their whispers, which were obviously about him.  
When the boy finally reached Potions, he went straight to the back of the room in the most secluded place possible. Eyes traveled in his direction as he did so.  
“Good morning, students. I expect you to have finished your assignments and I also expect you not to breathe a word of recent events. Detention will be immediate.” Snape’s voice echoed throughout the room. Draco swallowed, he knew what his teacher had meant by “recent events”. The blond boy was grateful for the man’s words. Nobody had in fact whispered anything related to his situation. 

When the boy left the classroom, he was intercepted by someone he was not expecting: Harry Potter.  
“Malfoy, wait!”  
Draco turned to look at the other, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He then realized Ginny was in the background, looking at them, probably waiting for Potter to finish with him. That made his heart ache.  
“What is it?” The blond’s voice was not filled with any sort of spite, he actually felt very shy at that moment.  
“I… I just wanted to say that I’m sorry.”  
“For what?” He was definitely not expecting an apology.  
“For uh… I should have done something, helped in some way.”  
“Why would you do that? You… you hate me.”  
“What? I don’t hate you, Malfoy. You just piss the shit out of me from time to time. It’s actually amusing.” Harry confessed, releasing a smile. Draco couldn’t help but reply with one himself, Harry Potter looked nice doing that.  
The brown haired boy scratched his nose. “Well, and I’m glad you didn’t… uh… that you…”  
“You don’t have to say it. It’s fine.” If he had any tears left, Malfoy would have cried but he was too tired.  
“If you ever want to speak about uh… you can always talk to me. I’ll listen.” Harry’s voice was small and his expression serious.  
The blond didn’t answer.  
“Bye, Draco. I hope you feel better soon.” The boy released another smile and returned to his girlfriend, leaving the other.  
Draco Malfoy could only think of one thing at that moment: Harry Potter had just called him Draco.

“Neville! Come here!”  
Blaise Zabini was annoyed. His boyfriend had just read his Transfiguration essay and had just announced how dreadful it was, jumping to the other side of the room as he did. Whenever Blaise tried to reach him, he ran.  
“Give that back!”  
“It’s so bad!” Neville’s eyes were wide as he continued reading. “You sure you wrote this?”  
“Yes!” The boy was getting incredibly frustrated.  
“Are you certain this is not Goyle’s?  
“Bloody hell, Neville!”  
Neville finally let himself be caught, the pages ripped from his hand, and attempted to give a kiss to his boyfriend who turned his head.  
“Nah ah. No way you’re kissing me.”  
“Common, Blaise! I was kidding! It’s not bad!”  
“Not bad? It’s horrible! What I’m going to do? It’s do tomorrow!”  
“It was a joke! The essay is good. Trust me. Better than mine for sure.”  
Blaise stared at Neville’s eyes, who didn’t flinch. He then pulled him by the waist and kissed him fiercely. Neville smiled during the action.  
Blaise Zabini had learned a lot about his boyfriend. He was clumsy yes, he had known that from the start but he now knew he was only awkward in uncomfortable situations. Blaise was glad that Neville had allowed him to see this playful side of him. He betted not many people got to see that, which was something that made him extremely pleased.  
They were alone in the classroom. It was the Herbology one. They weren’t supposed to be there but Neville loved that room, it felt fresh and smelled nice.  
“Want to do it in here?” Blaise let his lips move towards the other’s neck, who bit his lips as he repressed a moan.  
“In… in the Herbology room?” There he was again, awkward Neville.  
“Why not?”  
“Wha… What about the plants?”  
“What about them? They’re plants! It’s not like they are watching.” Blaise laughed, making his way to place his hand, under the boy’s shirt, caressing his chest.  
“Some of them are!”  
“Bloody hell, you’re soft.” The boy ignored his boyfriend’s words and pushed him towards the table, sitting him there and opening his legs so he could be in between.  
“Blaise…”  
“Shh.”  
Blaise removed Neville’s shirt in order to better access his skin. After a moment, he took off his own and pulled the other body closer.  
They were bitting, kissing, licking, groping when the door opened to reveal a very shocked professor Sprout.  
“Oh my…”  
The boys pulled away from each other fast, grabbing their shirts in a hurry and putting them on as they prepared to leave the room.  
“This classroom is not for…” The woman could not bring herself to speak the word.  
“Sorry, professor Sprout. Won’t happen again.”  
“Y…yeah.” Neville’s cheeks had never been redder. He could not believe his teacher, of all of them the one who gave him the best grades, had just caught him and Blaise about to, well, fuck.  
“Yes, well, I surely hope not.”  
The boys were gone, leaving an open eyed teacher wondering about the mechanics of gay sex.

Draco was reading on his bed when Blaise arrived with his clothes still a mess.  
“I’m glad someone was having fun.” The blond boy muttered playfully for the other to hear.  
Blaise Zabini flushed at the comment. “Yeah, well…” He then took a moment to observe his friend. Malfoy was wearing a t-shirt, the hot weather had arrived, and he didn’t have his bandages anymore. His scars were visible even from afar. He was suddenly uncomfortable, he felt as if he was intruding on a very private moment.  
“I can tell you’re looking.” Draco spoke, his eyes back to his book.  
“Uh sorry.”  
“It’s ok, I know they’re hideous.”  
“Draco, they’re not…” Blaise stopped himself before deciding to change his words. “It’s in the past. What happened I mean. You now have to move on.”  
The blond boy laughed spitefully at his friend’s words.  
Blaise ignored the reaction. “How did it go? With your parents?”  
Draco looked up from his book to meet Blaise’s eyes. “Fine.”  
“Do they know?”  
“Yeah.”  
“How did they…”  
“With mom was alright I guess but dad… well, let’s just say we won’t be doing any father and son activities from now on.”  
“Was it that bad?”  
“He didn’t say anything, he just left the room. Screw fatherly love…” Draco muttered the last sentence audibly to himself.  
“He’ll come around.”  
“That’s what mom said. I highly doubt it.”  
Blaise’s thoughts travelled to his own situation. How would his parents react to his and Neville’s relationship? Would they threw him out onto the streets? No, they would never…  
“I bet his reaction wasn’t worse just because I had just slashed my wrists. If it was in a different scenario, I would have been disinherited right on the spot.” The boy continued.  
Blaise Zabini looked at his friend. He had yet to go back to his usual self. Malfoy’s voice was still soft and weak and his eyes red due to the lack of sleep.  
They stayed silent for a while. Blaise took the chance to get into his pajama bottoms.  
“Potter spoke to me the other day.” Malfoy said, interrupting the other’s reading, who had just opened a book himself.  
“Potter?”  
“Yeah, he apologized to me.”  
“For what?”  
“He uh… he found me in the bathroom one time and I kinda broke down in front of him. I guess his savior soul told him he had the duty to help me.”  
“He apologized for that? Weird…”  
“He also said I could talk to him if I needed.”  
“What? Was he messing with you?”  
“I doubt Potter would ever mess with someone that had just tried to…” Malfoy sighed. “Nevertheless, Ginny was in the background waiting for him so it doesn’t mean anything. Just Potter being Potter.”  
“Uh.”  
“Yeah.”  
“Do you like him still?”  
“Yes.”  
“What are you gonna do about it?”  
“There’s nothing to do.”  
“I guess so.” Blaise finalized the conversation right there.


	11. Chapter 11

Summer had arrived.  
Blaise and Neville got out of the train together, not without, of course, kissing each other goodbye inside the compartment before leaving.  
Blaise waved to his family in the distance who waved excitedly in return. His little sister came running towards him, jumping into his arms. Neville looked at the two brothers, his boyfriend never told him he had a sister, a sister he seemed to adore.  
“Neville!” Augusta Longbottom’s voice rang in the boy’s ears. A sweetheart as always.  
“Aren’t you gonna hug your grandmother?” The woman spoke sternly.  
Neville nodded and put his arms around her, she responded stiffly to the hug.  
“You got taller.” Augusta stated as she groped her grandson’s shoulders and arms. It seemed like she was searching for broken bones. “Ok! Let’s go, son. Bring your bags.”  
Clumsily, the boy did what he was told and left with her.

Malfoy stood at the platform, not bothering to search for his parents. His eyes were down, he appeared to be extremely concentrated on his shoes.  
“Draco!” Narcissa shouted, rushing to hug her son, spreading kisses all over his face.  
“Mother!” Draco protested.  
“Sorry.” She smiled. “Your father is waiting at home.”  
“He didn’t come?” He was disappointed but not surprised.  
“He had some business to take care of.”  
“Oh.” The boy did not believe her.  
Narcissa put a hand on her son’s shoulder as she guided him home. She had noticed the state of his scars, they were still red and seemed as if Draco had been picking the scabs. The woman smiled softly during the journey, even though her chest was filled with worry.

An owl arrived a few days later to the Longbottom household. Neville rushed to open his window. It was a letter from Blaise. He opened it in a hurry.

Neville,

I want to see you.  
I keep recalling our last kiss. It’s still a mystery to me how you keep your lips so soft. I miss them already.  
We’re going to visit Aunt Louise next week and, guess what, she doesn’t live far from you. I was hoping I could stop by your place. Please say yes. I want to meet your grandmother. From the way you’ve described her, she seems quite lovely. 

B.

Neville laughed at the use of the word “lovely”.  
He thought about his boyfriend’s request. Was it a good idea? Would he be able to hide the true nature of their “friendship” from his grandmother? The boy wanted to see Blaise badly. Just the thought of having to wait an entire week made him anxious. The truth is he wanted him to be there with him right at that moment.  
He grabbed a piece of paper and wrote a big “yes”, filling the page with the word. He then sent the owl away with the answer.  
Neville Longbottom was not the only one to receive a message that day though. Draco Malfoy too was about to be surprised.

Dinner was quiet. His father had only said two words to him since he arrived, a cold and short “welcome back”. The air was thick inside that house, many things left unspoken.  
The Malfoys were at the end of their meal when the it came, a white owl flew through the window and landed right on the middle of the table, it had a letter on its beak. Draco looked at the bird, he knew whose it was, Harry’s.  
Lucius Malfoy grabbed the envelope roughly. His eyebrows furrowed when he read who it was addressed to.  
“It’s for Draco.” The man extended his arm in a quick motion, not bothering to look at his son.  
Draco took the letter from his father and examined the object. There was nothing peculiar about it, mere paper. Yet the boy couldn’t wait for its content to be revealed.  
“May I be excused?” He asked his mother politely. The woman smiled softly and nodded.  
The blond then rushed towards his bedroom, closed the door and jumped onto his bed, his front agains’t the sheets. Draco opened the letter slowly and took a big breath before reading, his heart was pumping.

Draco,

I admit it is odd that I’m in fact writing to you. However, I can’t take you off my mind. You’ve been a bloody asswipe for many years, constantly attempting to make me and my friends miserable. You have yet to succeed though. I hope this fact doesn’t give you sorrow.  
You’ve changed a lot in the past two months, I can barely recognize the nasty skinny brat I once knew. Even though this might come as a surprise, I don’t know wether I prefer the old Malfoy or the new one. I don’t enjoy your broken state, I much rather have you spit poison at me than inflicting harm upon yourself. All of this to say that you’re worrying me.  
I’ve sent you this letter hoping that you’ll realize I am trustworthy. I’m willing to listen and help as much as I can.  
Please reply.

Harry

Draco stared at the piece of paper, the words “can’t take you off my mind” repeating themselves in his head. Harry Potter had been thinking about him. So much that he felt the need to write. The boy couldn’t help but smile. He knew this didn’t mean anything other than the fact that he felt sorry for him, which wasn’t a particularly good thing to feel for someone, but Draco’s mind drifted to different places, to situations where the other did in fact mean more than just a friendly suggestion.  
The blond boy wanted to reply. But what would he say? Harry wanted Draco to trust him and share what was troubling him but Draco could not reveal the true nature of his feelings.  
He looked for a piece of paper in a hurry but hesitated when he found it. Draco took a deep breath and began writing. He had to throw away many sheets before he finally was happy with what he had written. 

Potter,

I must say it doesn’t surprise me that your wannabe hero persona took over your brain. You want to help me just like you would help any other in distress. I don’t know wether that characteristic pleases me or not but I will leave that knowledge to future days. I will say one thing though. Even if it has seemed that I have despised you for ages, I do know you are to be trusted. I’m merely afraid of what might happen if I were to tell you. All of this to say that I’m yet to be comfortable with sharing my distress. I hope you’ll understand that. You saw what happened, I cannot deny it. The reasons behind it though will have to remain a mystery. I apologize for that.  
I’m glad that you have written to me. This summer is being particularly difficult. My actions and reason behind them (the one I will not speak of) caused a great impact on my parents, especially on my father, who is giving me the silent treatment. I’m afraid he will never come around and, most likely, he will announce my disinheritance soon.  
Suicide is not something to be proud of. And I’m a Malfoy, I belong to a pureblood family. My father values a good reputation most of all and this has just stained it just like other factors probably will.  
I feel terribly alone and the fact that I’m sharing all of this with the one and only Harry Potter proves it. Nevertheless, (I never thought I would say this) thank you. Thank you for being who you are. I don’t hate you, on the contrary.

D. Malfoy

Draco sent the letter, only to realize his last words. “I don’t hate you, on the contrary”. He shouldn’t have said that. “On the contrary”?! What if Harry thought it was declaration of love? The truth is, that’s what it meant. The contrary of hate is love!  
The blond boy let himself fall onto his bed once again, this time his back down. His hands then flew towards his eyes, covering them, and he groaned in despair. He just hoped for that last sentence not to be interpreted as he feared it could be. 

Next week had come. Neville had waited three days for Blaise’s visit. It was Thursday afternoon and nothing. He was starting to worry. What if the boy had forgotten? He hadn’t though, had he?  
The boy was trapped in his thoughts when the knock came. At first, he didn’t make much of it, it was only when he heard that voice that he ran out of the room.  
“Uh… Is Neville here?” It was Blaise.  
Neville almost fell as he ran down the stairs to find his gran in front of the opened door, probably with a threatening glare on her eyes.  
“Hi!” He shouted a bit too loud, a large uncontrollable smile on his lips.  
Augusta Longbottom turned towards her grandson. “Friend of yours?” He simply nodded. The woman sighed and let the boy inside. Then she left towards what Blaise assumed to be the living room.  
When they were finally alone, Neville got off the stairs and continued his journey towards his boyfriend, pulling him to the kitchen and kissing him with need as far from from his grandmother as possible. Both boys were smiling during the action.  
“Bloody hell, I missed you.” Blaise whispered and then went for another kiss.  
“Me too.” Neville pulled away in order to speak and moved to meet the other’s lips as well.  
Blaise laughed, their mouths still connected. “Wait. Your grandmother might come in at any moment.”  
“Oh. Y… you’re right.”  
They finished their kiss.  
“How long do we have?”  
“About two hours. Mom, dad and Theresa went to that park.”  
“Not very long then.” Neville’s smiled dropped but he continued, changing the subject. “You didn’t told me you had a sister.”  
“Oh. I guess not.” Blaise scratched the back of his neck. “I must have forgotten. Sorry.”  
“No problem.” The boy’s smile came back, a softer one this time. “How old is she?”  
“Six.”  
“She likes you. I could tell.”  
“Yeah, I know.” Blaise’s mind went to a different place, not really interested in talking about his family. His lips turned upwards. “Wanna show me your own room?”  
Neville swallowed. “I… gran… I don’t think we should.” The boy was definitely not comfortable with having sex with Augusta Longbottom in the house, the thought itself was not only dangerous but extremely uncomfortable.  
“We’re not having sex?” The playful smile vanished and a pout appeared.  
“No.” Neville was certain of this.  
“But I want to touch you.” Blaise continued, making his way to caress the boy’s face, which grew extremely red.  
“Don’t say those things! My grandmother is…”  
The dark skinned boy interrupted his boyfriend with a kiss, their lips moved slowly. Neville’s body practically melted, his hands resting on the other’s chest.  
It is unknown how long the action had lasted. It was interrupted soon though. A voluntary cough filling the room.  
The boys pulled apart as fast as they could. Neville was afraid to look at the owner of that sound, he knew well who it was, Blaise too.  
“Young man, I believe my grandson and I need to have a little conversation. I will have to ask you to leave my property.” A voice followed.  
Blaise didn’t think twice. He nodded to the woman, whose face had an unreadable expression, and left the house.  
Neville’s eyes followed his boyfriend’s movement, his mind too absorbed with Augusta Longbottom’s presence for him to dwell on Blaise’s departure.  
“Friend?” The woman raised her eyebrow.  
“Uh… boyfriend.” The boy’s head was low.  
“I see. How long has this been going on?” Her voice was emotionless.  
“A few months.”  
“So, you are…”  
Neville nodded.  
The woman let a “hum” escape. Then she approached her grandson and pulled his head upwards in order to look at his expression. They both looked at each other. Augusta spoke soon after. “Do you like that boy?”  
“Yes.” His voice was soft.  
There was another “hum” followed by a hug. That caught Neville off guard, he was definitely not expecting that. It wasn’t what one would refer to as a warm hug, it felt cold and stiff but he knew this was the best his grandmother could come up with. He let his hands travel to her back, resting them there.  
“I know I might be strict with you sometimes but know that I only am so because I love you and want you to be a great man someday. I hope you understand that.”  
“Yes, gran.”  
“I’m going back to the living room now. You can call your boyfriend. I believe he’s still outside.”  
“Ok.”  
The woman left, leaving a very confused Neville Longbottom wondering what had just happened.


	12. Chapter 12

Potter,

I don’t think it’s wise for you to visit me as you kindly suggested. I believe my father does not like you very much and I do think you know this. However, I might agree meeting you somewhere else. I know you’re with the Weasleys this Summer but they don’t enjoy my company very much and I doubt I would be welcomed. There is a place near King’s Cross that I used to go to with my mother when I was a child. Yes, my mother has brought me to Muggle places before, without my father’s knowledge of course. It’s a small hidden park. It has a lake and well kept trees. Do you wanna meet there? Wednesday afternoon perhaps? 

D. Malfoy.

The answer came the same day. Draco had been keeping the window of his room open and it wasn’t long for him to find a owl sitting by it. It must have been 10 p.m.

Draco,

First of all, please call me Harry. We’ve been talking for a while and it feels rather strange that you still refer to me by my last name, it just seems impersonal.  
But yes, I would love to meet you. Trading letters has been enjoyable. However, I wish to talk to you face to face. I kind of miss your ugly mug.  
See you soon.

Harry

“Ugly mug?”. Did Harry really think Draco was ugly? The boy thought about that for a while. It was rather silly of course, the other was obviously merely messing with him but, sometimes, Draco’s insecurities got the best of him. Nevertheless, they would be meeting in just two days. The boy felt rather nervous about that but excited at the same time. 

Draco Malfoy was sitting on a bench, playing with his hands, when Harry Potter finally showed up. At first, the blond boy thought the other had forgotten or merely not shown up but, after 10 minutes or so, Harry arrived.  
“I’m sorry!” His breathing seemed heavy. The boy had been running. “You have no idea how difficult it was convincing Ron to let me come. Had to tell him the truth of course, it’s not like I have friends other than him and Hermione. I couldn’t come up with a believable excuse.” Harry was talking fast, it was difficult to understand his speech completely.  
“It… it’s no problem, uh… Harry.” The word felt strange leaving Draco’s lips. It was foreign for him the use of the name.  
“You ok?” Harry’s cheeks were still flustered, something that made him extremely attracted in Draco’s eyes.  
The blond boy just nodded, swallowing nervously right before.  
The brunette came closer and sat right next to the other. Their arms were touching. Now it was Draco’s turn for his cheeks to become red.  
“You called me Harry.” Harry’s smile was wide.  
“I guess I did.” Draco’s voice was soft.  
The “Boy Who Lived” nudged Malfoy on the shoulder playfully. “Common, let’s go sit on the grass. Park benches make my back ache.”  
“Ok.”  
Draco Malfoy was not accustomed to sitting on the ground. His parents never encouraged that kind of behaviour, saying that that’s not how a proper gentleman acts. It felt nice, though. The grass was soft and slightly wet, something that contrasted nicely with the Summer heat. Also, Harry Potter was lying right next to him, his back flat on the ground and his head resting on top of his hands. The boy looked at Draco. “Aren’t you going to lie down?”  
“Uh… sure.” Lie down next to Potter? That… That was… The blond resisted the urge to swallow again and did what the other boy had suggested. He looked over at Harry to find that his eyes were closed. Draco smiled. He wished he could kiss him. “You’re looking.” Harry said opening his eyes and directing them straight towards the other.  
“I’m not. I was just uh… thinking.”  
“About what?”  
“I…”  
“You sure you’re ok? In your letters you seemed well but now I can tell something is troubling you. Is it your father? Did something happen?”  
“N… no. It’s nothing. I’m fine.”  
Harry furrowed his eyebrows. Draco wished for the boy to drop the subject.  
The brunette’s eyes travelled towards the other’s arms. “They seem better.”  
“Yeah.” If he could, Draco Malfoy would have sighed in relief.  
Harry couldn’t help himself, he traced his finger over the left scar on the blond’s wrist, who flinched, pulling his arm away and sitting up quickly.  
“Sorry!” The Gryffindor was startled himself, sitting up as well.  
“No! I’m the one who’s sorry. You didn’t do anything wrong.” Draco then realized how close they were. He could feel Harry’s breathing on his face. His eyes flickered towards the other’s lips. If he could only…  
“Uh… Draco?”  
Draco didn’t hear Harry’s voice, his heart was pumping too loudly for him to listen. His mouth was getting closer to the other’s, who was too confused to speak. Their lips met but only for a slight second, it wasn’t long for Harry to push the other away, standing up as fast as he could. “What’s wrong with you?” The boy shouted, still in shock.  
The blond got up as well. “I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have…” He attempted to put a hand on Harry’s shoulder but the other just stepped even farther. “Don’t touch me!”  
Draco could feel tears gathering in his eyes. “I’m sorry.” He repeated, his voice lower.  
Harry stared at the boy for a while, not saying anything until he finalized: “I should go.” Then he left.  
Draco was alone.

Summer had ended and it was time to go back to school. Neville and Blaise were incredibly excited to see each other again, those two hours not having been enough. Draco and Harry however… that was a different story. They had yet to trade a letter since that day at the park. Draco was too afraid to say anything and Harry, well, he just didn’t know what could possibly be written after such a situation.  
Draco Malfoy got off the train by himself. Pansy and Goyle, just like before, didn’t try sitting next to him. In fact, they hadn’t even attempted a conversation ever since the “incident” happened. Friends… right.  
He was afraid he would see Potter. Luckily, they hadn’t crossed paths before the journey but that was probably due to the fact that Draco had jumped onto the train as fast as he could upon arriving. The boy knew, however, that it would eventually happen. And it did. He was getting off the train to find the trio right in front of him, Ginny too. She was clutching Harry’s arm, her head resting on him.  
The Slytherin tried to pass without being noticed but Harry, of course, had seen him. They shared a quick glance, looking away after merely a second. Draco’s heart dropped. The other was obviously still disgusted. 

“What happened between you and Malfoy anyway, aren’t you guys like best friends now?” Ron Weasley mocked.  
“Nothing happened!” Harry shouted angrily, letting his knife and fork fall onto the plate. They were having dinner.  
“Sorry! Didn’t meant anything by it. No need to get all uh… shouty.”  
The brunette breathed soundly and calmed down. Ginny gave him a gentle kiss on his cheek, this time Ron didn’t say a thing.  
Hermione stared at the redheaded boy for a moment. He could feel the girl’s gaze on him but attempted to ignore it. There was something they had yet to share. Hermione was visiting the Weasleys the day Harry left to meet Malfoy and her and Ron got into a big fight over something so insignificant they could no longer remember what. This wasn’t anything new, their fights, but, the thing is, that day had ended with a snog. Yes, Ron Weasley had kissed Hermione Granger and the girl had hungrily kissed back. They had been acting strange ever since, refusing to speak of the subject. Luckily for them, Harry was too busy thinking about how weird it was seeing Malfoy again to notice anything peculiar.  
“Why did you guys meet? I thought you hated each other.” Ron continued.  
“We’ve been talking over the summer.” The other’s voice was low.  
“What? Why?”  
“I wanted to help him I guess.”  
“You don’t have to be the hero all of the time, Harry.” Hermione intervened. She was ignored.  
“But what happened? You said you two were talking and now you seem mad at him. It doesn’t make any sense.”  
“Like I said, nothing happened.” Harry looked over at Ginny and kissed her lips, earning an eye roll from her brother.

Blaise sat on his bed, looking at his friend who seemed to be deep in his thoughts.  
“You ok there, Malfoy?” The boy attempted a conversation.  
“W… what?” Draco was startled.  
“I asked if you were ok.”  
“Yeah yeah.”  
Blaise did not believe the blond’s words. “You’re acting strange. Did something happen during Summer?”  
“No! Nothing happen. I was just thinking that’s all.” Malfoy raised his voice anxiously.  
“About?”  
“Bloody hell, Blaise! Mind your business. Leave me alone.”  
“I’m sorry. I thought we were friends.”  
“We’re not friends.” They were though, weren’t they? They had spoken about stuff Draco wouldn’t even dare to speak with anyone else.  
“We used to be.”  
“Things change.” His speech might had been rash but his voice was soft.  
“You can still talk to me though. Was it your father?” Blaise insisted.  
The other sighed. “That’s not…” He was starting to open up.  
“What is it then?”  
“It… I did something I shouldn’t have.”  
“What?”  
“I… fuck. Why am I telling you this?”  
“Because you trust me.” Zabini’s lips curled upwards.  
“I guess.”  
“So?”  
“I kissed Potter.” Draco spoke quickly.  
“What?!” Blaise was not expecting that.  
“Yeah, I mean, it was barely a kiss. He pulled away in disgust as soon as our lips met.”  
“Why were you with Potter anyway?”  
The blond proceeded to explain. “We’ve been writing letters to each other. I mean, we were. But I blew it. I don’t know what came over me, I should have controlled myself.” Draco released a sob and covered his face with his hands, he was crying.  
Blaise approached him, placed his hand on the other’s shoulder and tried comforting him in a soft voice. “I’m sorry it turned out like that.”  
“He doesn’t like me. Even after we became close. He will never like me back. No one will.”  
“Hey don’t say that.”  
“It’s true, Blaise. Everyone hates me. And after the suicide attempt, no one even dares to come near me.”  
“They’re still shocked, that’s all. They don’t know how deal with it. It’s not because they hate you.”  
Draco wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his sweater. “They don’t care about me. Potter, and you I guess, was the only one who had the guts to try to understand what happened, to help me, to make me see that there’s more to life than misery. And I believed him but it’s not true, at least not for me. I’m doomed to loneliness and, to make things worse, about to be disinherited. I wish it had worked. I wish I was dead.”  
“Draco, common. I know you don’t mean that.”  
“I do.”  
“You were better. You were on your way to recovery.”  
“Yes, until Harry pulled away.”  
“He’s a douche. You have to forget about him.”  
“The thing is, he’s not, Blaise. He’s wonderful. He’s good and kind and strong and intelligent and…” Draco sobbed as his eyes filled with tears again, earning himself a hug from Blaise, who held his friend until the crying stopped. 

Neville Longbottom met his boyfriend’s lips, a small moan escaping him. Blaise’s hand moved under the other’s shirt, caressing his lower back.  
They were at the Gryffindor boy’s bedroom. No one was there, everyone had gone to Hogsmeade that day. They had chosen to stay, it wasn’t often they had a room all to themselves, especially one with a mattress.  
Neville took a hold of Blaise’s tie and pulled him towards his bed, which he had forgotten to make. The sheets were messy underneath them.  
“Blaise.”  
“Yeah?” The boy whispered into his boyfriend’s mouth and captured him in another kiss, his tongue begging to enter, Neville eagerly allowed it to.  
“I missed you.” The Gryffindor whispered as Blaise moved his lips towards his neck.  
“You did?”  
Neville could feel the other’s smirk pressing agains’t his skin. He smirked himself. “Yeah.” He then proceeded to pull Blaise’s top layers off, leaving only his shoes and pants, which were concealing an obvious erection.  
“Touch me.”  
The pale boy was more than willing to oblige. He flipped their bodies, placing himself on top of the other, and moved his hand towards his boyfriend's crotch. He gave a gentle squeeze, something that made Blaise groan in delight. “Fuck.”  
“Can I suck you?” Neville Longbottom’s voice showed shyness. However, he felt anything but.  
“Bloody hell, Neville… You know you don’t have to ask that.”  
Neville laughed softly to himself and kissed along Blaise’s torso until he reached his goal. He then opened the other’s fly, pulling down the fabric. Blaise kicked off his shoes, inviting the boy to undress him completely. Neville did just that, he pulled both trousers and boxers in one motion. The Gryffindor was the only one who had his clothes still on.  
“I want to see you too.” Blaise whispered, placing himself in a sitting position. Neville nodded and took off everything that was hiding his body. Blaise smiled and pulled the other boy towards him. Their lips met in a hungry kiss.  
Neville laughed. “Don’t you want my lips around your cock?” He said confident and playfully.  
“Fuck that.” The dark skinned boy pulled the other onto his lap, his erection touching his boyfriend’s ass, who moaned as he captured his lips once more. He then rocked his hips, earning soft whimpers from the other boy.  
“I want you to be rough.” The pale boy admitted.  
Blaise eyebrows furrowed in amazement.  
Neville continued, kissing his way to his boyfriend’s neck then lips then neck again. “I want you to fuck me hard. Please. I want it. I… fuck… I need it so bad.”  
The boy’s words went straight to Blaise’s cock, which impossibly grew harder.“O… ok. Do you have…” He swallowed. “Lube?”  
Neville rushed to his nightstand and searched the drawers until he found the bottle. He was as quick as he could possibly be, he felt impatient with desire. Blaise took the bottle from him and rubbed the liquid onto his cock. His wet fingers then met Neville’s entrance, who at first, with the intrusion, winced but soon returned to moaning in pleasure. “Just do it. I can’t wait anymore. Do it, please.”  
Blaise put some more lube onto his erection and threw the bottle away so they could begin. “How do you want to do this? You want to uh… ride it? All f…?”  
“All fours.” The boy was quick to answer.  
Blaise’s eyes widened in surprise, Neville sure knew what he wanted. The boy adjusted his position, allowing his boyfriend to turn, body resting on his hands and knees. The Slytherin swallowed and placed himself behind him. He entered the boy slowly, he didn’t want to hurt him after all. He grabbed Neville’s hips and moved in and out in a slow experimental pace. The boy underneath bit his lower lip and waited for the speed to increase. It just wasn’t enough. “Blaise, please, harder. You’re not hurting me. I want you to fuck me like a bloody whore.”  
The use of the word “whore” was not something he expected to come out of his boyfriend’s mouth, his shy awkward boyfriend. Nevertheless, the boy nodded, moving faster as he pulled Neville’s ass towards him by the hips in a rough movement. He kept repeating it, sweat running down his forehead as he went in and out with force. Neville moaned and whimpered as Blaise hit his spot again and again, the words “fuck me” and “please” coming out of his mouth a few times during the act. Almost at the finish line, the Slytherin attempted to go even faster, his fingers digging into the other’s flesh. His breathing was heavy, he was releasing every bit of energy he had stored. Neville came soon after with a loud uncontrolled moan, Blaise continued to move until he too reached climax, got out and fell onto his boyfriend’s back. They both were breathing soundly.  
“Wow.” That was Blaise’s first reaction to what had just happened.  
“Yeah.”  
“Bloody hell, Neville. Where did that came from?” The Slytherin boy laughed in realization of the other’s previous behaviour.  
“Don’t know.” Neville’s voice was soft.  
“You’re so fucking hot. I can’t even move right now.”  
“Uh… you have to though, you’re kinda squashing me.”  
“Oh! Sorry!” Blaise rolled over to the side, releasing his boyfriend.  
Neville had his face turned towards the sheets hidden.  
“Look at me.” The dark skinned boy smiled as he played with the other’s hair and continued. “I want to see your face.”  
“No.” A muffled response was all he got.  
“Common. Please.” Blaise kissed the back of Neville’s neck who finally turned, his face was tomato red and his eyes were wide. “What’s wrong?” The Slytherin asked in concern.  
“I can’t believe I said those things.”  
Blaise laughed and pecked Neville on the lips.

Blaise felt guilty as he returned to his dorm. The time he had spent with Neville that day, and the sex of course, had been bloody amazing but now, making his way towards the Slytherin Dungeon, his feelings were starting to change from excitement to regret, not because he didn’t want to screw his boyfriend but because he knew who waited in his room, Draco Malfoy. He was certain the boy didn’t go to Hogsmeade, feeling too bad to leave the school grounds, Blaise knew he had chosen to be alone all day and that certainly made him feel like a terrible friend.


	13. Chapter 13

Contrary to Blaise’s guess, Draco Malfoy was not in his room, he wasn’t even at Hogwarts. The boy had received a letter from his father ordering him to return home at once. He had to make up an excuse of course. Such as Lucius had suggested, he told Dumbledore his mother had just become gravely ill and that he was needed at home. If the headmaster had believed him, he did not know but he was undoubtedly on his way towards the Malfoy manor.  
The house seemed grayer that day, it was as if an overwhelming shadow was surrounding the place. His father stood from his chair as soon as he saw the boy. He had an emotionless expression on his face, the scariest of them all. This was it. He was about to be disinherited and thrown out of his house. Draco was already trying to figure out how he would survive the streets when Lucius Malfoy spoke.  
“There’s something we need to discuss.”  
The boy swallowed nervously and gave a short nod.  
“The Dark Lord has spoken to me.” Lucius began.  
What? The Dark Lord? What did that have to do…  
“You were given an assignment.”  
An assignment? From Voldemort? No, that… What could it be? He was just a boy, he didn’t want to have anything to do with…  
His thoughts were suddenly stopped by his father’s following words. “You are going to kill Dumbledore.”  
Draco’s eyes grew wide. He was expecting many things but not that, kill Dumbledore?  
“Father.” This was joke, it had to be. “I…”  
“You shall return to Hogwarts and continue your classes. When the time is right, you will do as you were told.” His father’s voice was low and demanding, it frightened him.  
“But I can’t! I’m not going to do it! You can’t make me!”  
“You don’t have a choice, Draco. What do you think he’ll do when he finds out you failed him? Trust me, son, you don’t want to go agains’t him.”  
Tears were starting to form in Draco’s eyes. He could feel panic pulsing through his veins. “Please, father. I’ll do anything.”  
“This evening you will bow and receive the mark.”  
“No! I’ll marry bloody Pansy Parkinson, we’ll produce an heir. That’s what you wanted. That’s why you…”  
“Draco!”  
His father’s shout made the boy freeze, except for his hands that still shook. He continued, his voice changing to something else. Was it… fear? “You have to do this. He will destroy us, Draco. Do you want your mother to suffer?” Draco shook his head quickly as he bit his lips, refusing to let the sobs come. Lucius continued. “Then it’s settled. You will do as you are told. Now breathe, they will be here shortly.”

A few hours had passed and the house was soon filled with darkness. Draco was sitting on his bed, waiting for his terrible fate. His hands still shook from his and Lucius previous conversation. This was too much. Why him? He was young, how would he even complete this mission? Kill Dumbledore? But he was so powerful and Draco Malfoy was merely a student. Many things scared him about this: him receiving the black mark, becoming a death eater, a murderer or, even worse, failing, his family tortured and killed…  
“It’s time.” His father spoke after opening the door so silently the boy hadn’t even noticed the intrusion. His eyes were low, fully focused on his trembling fingers. Draco squeezed his hands, letting his fingernails pierce through the skin, and nodded.  
Step by step he followed his father down the stairs, carefully taking notice of the men that were now in their living room. They were all staring at him. He swallowed as he was led towards a dark figure with its back turned. It was him.  
“Just a boy.”  
Draco had forgotten how to breathe. The voice was raspy and low, it almost seemed of an old men but he knew better than that.  
Voldemort turned, his face illuminated by the soft candle light. His features were barely visible but still incredibly frightening.  
“Draco.” Lucius whispered towards his son. The boy knew what he meant. He bowed, a sudden need to vomit overwhelming his senses.  
“Your arm, child.” The Dark Lord extended his hand, it was colourless, like a corpse.  
Draco hesitated, looking at his father whose eyes were fixed somewhere else. He then gave in, allowing the horrifying man to hold his arm. He could feel his eyes staring, it must have been the scar that interested him so. A moment later and a sharp pain reached him. He screamed in agony, it was as if he was being burned by flames. Draco didn’t know how long it had lasted. Maybe minutes, hours, seconds… He just knew that it was the most horrible feeling he had ever experienced. When the man was done, the boy could still feel the burning sensation, lessened yes but still there. The first thing he did afterwards was throw up right onto the carpeted floor.

Harry Potter’s eyes widened as Snape announced Malfoy was his potions’ partner for the day. Malfoy? Anyone but him. He clench his fists and moved to the seat next to Draco. He avoided looking at him, the less contact the better.  
“You may begin.”  
Low voices suddenly filled the room, they were the whispers of students working together to achieve a common goal.  
Harry stared at the objects in front of him: herbs, liquids and… were that… fingernails? He was trying to control his stomach when he realized Malfoy had yet to move or speak. Harry closed his eyes, breathed soundly and turned towards the other. He wasn’t expecting to see what he saw. Malfoy was looking straight ahead, his skin was even paler, purple bags rested under his eyes and his neck was red, as if he had scratched it continuously until it bled.  
“Uh… Malfoy?”  
Draco woke up from his trance and moved his head slowly in Harry’s direction. He didn’t speak. His eyes were bloodshot red too.  
“Do you want to be the one to uh… read or…” The brunette’s voice was soft, he was having difficulty forming words, he had seen Draco Malfoy in a terrible state before but not like this, this was much worse.  
“You read.” Draco’s voice was weak.  
“Sure.” 

Harry was not the only one to notice Draco Malfoy’s transformation. Hermione had as well and Ron and, of course, his friend and roommate, Blaise Zabini. Even though the first three were not friends with the boy, they were starting to worry. They had noticed how, from time to time, Draco disappeared, supposedly to go home to help his sick mother. They doubted that to be true though. Something else was happening, something worse.  
“Harry, you shouldn’t stare.” Hermione whispered to her friend.  
The boy hadn’t noticed but he was, in fact, staring at Malfoy, who ate lonesomely at the table in front.  
“I wasn’t.” Harry looked back towards his plate.  
The girl sighed. “It’s terrible, isn’t it? I mean, I know it’s Malfoy and we should hate him but he’s been acting different ever since that day when he tried to uh… he’s worse now though. I think he might… again.”  
Harry’s eyes widened with that realization and looked quickly towards Hermione. “Do you really think so?”  
She nodded.  
Ron was staring between both of them, his eyes moving left to right and vice versa.  
Harry paused for a moment, lost in his thoughts, and spoke. “Do you think I should talk to him?”  
The redheaded boy chewed silently until he swallowed. “I think you might be the one he trusts the most. I mean uh… of us three. You were talking during the summer, weren’t you? And what happened can’t be that bad, right?”  
“It’s complicated.” The boy’s voice was low.  
“Well, Harry, I think you should do it. It has to be you.” Hermione was determined to convince her friend.  
“But I can’t do it.” Harry knew he should but he was afraid that… Why was he afraid?  
“Why, mate? It’s not like it’s that difficult.” Ron took another bite.  
The brunette wondered if he should tell his friends. Would they judge him? No. He didn’t do anything wrong, Malfoy was the one who…  
“He kissed me, ok?” Harry spoke quickly. “Or he tried to anyway. It’s… It’s awkward.”  
Ron’s eyes widened. “What?!”  
“Malfoy’s gay?” Hermione’s eyes were wide too.  
“Yeah.”  
“Bloody hell…”  
“So, that must be why he… but it still doesn’t explain…” The girl shook her head fast. “Doesn’t matter. He needs help. Harry, talk to him. Don’t be a wuss.”  
“But, Hermione…” Harry attempted to speak.  
“Talk. To. Him.” Hermione interrupted the boy and finalized, word by word.

Draco felt weak, he hadn’t slept much, he was feeling as if he could collapse at any moment. The boy could barely eat too, he was just staring at his plate, moving the contents from side to side with his fork, just thinking about food made his stomach turn.  
Someone cleared their throat, the sound waking Draco from his thoughts. He looked up to see Harry Potter staring awkwardly at him. His heart twisted in his chest, worsening the boy’s condition.  
“Can I seat here?” The Gryffindor asked politely.  
Draco knew he should have said “no” or “fuck off” but couldn’t bring himself to speak, he just nodded a “yes” with his head. Harry sat.  
“How uh…” The brunette looked down for a moment, thinking, and looked up again with more confidence than before. “How are you, Draco?”  
The question felt strange to the blond boy. Was it the use of his name? Or just the thought of Harry Potter still caring?  
“Fine.” He answer, his voice just as weak as before.  
“You don’t seem fine.”  
“Yeah.” He didn’t even attempt a lie.  
Harry moved his hand to meet the boy’s arm but Draco flinched away quickly, his eyes widening with fright.  
“Sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you. I was trying to…” Potter stopped talking, he just stared at Draco who was clutching his arm, his breathing heavy. Harry thought the other was about to have a panic attack of some sort. He got up and got closer, slowly, his hands raised. “I’m not gonna hurt, Draco. Please talk to me. Tell me what’s wrong.”  
“I can’t.”  
“Try.”  
“I’m… I’m sorry. I have to go.” Draco got up quickly, trying to leave the hall, but he was to weak and the movement too much for him to handle. The blond boy seemed to be on the verge of falling down. Harry jumped over the table and grabbed his shoulders before he did so.  
“You need help, Draco.”  
“No. I’m ok. I just need to sleep.” Draco could feel his eyes closing. He was so tired… so tired…  
“I’ll help you. Common, grab my arm.” Harry grabbed the other’s hand and placed it slowly around his left arm, holding him steady so he wouldn’t fall.  
“Ok.” Draco Malfoy was too weak to argue. He let the Gryffindor lead him to the Slytherin Dungeon.  
It took a while but both boy’s were able to get there.  
“We’re here. Go to your room and sleep. You’ll feel better when you wake up.”  
Harry attempted to let go of Draco but he just held on tighter, sobs appearing as he did so. “Don’t leave. Please, I don’t want to fall asleep. I’ll dream. I don’t want to dream. Please, don’t make me dream. Stay.”  
The brunette stared at the blond. He didn’t know what to do.  
“Draco, you know I can’t stay. This is the Slytherin’s…”  
“No one will care. Just don’t leave me, please. I can’t bare it any longer. I just want…” The boy continued to cry, his body threatening to fall, Harry held him in a hug to keep him from doing so.  
“What do you want, Draco?”  
“Release.”  
Harry swallowed. He knew release meant only one thing. He secured the blond tighter while he cried.  
Draco then began speaking words the other could not comprehend. “I don’t know what to do. He’ll… I don’t want them to suffer. I can’t do it, Harry, I’m too weak. I’m going to fail. I’m going to fail and he’s going to…” His sobs grew louder. Harry didn’t know what to do.  
“What are you talking about, Draco? You have to tell me so I can help you.” The Gryffindor’s voice was soft, soothing.  
“You’ll hate me.” Draco continued between sobs.  
“I won’t hate you, I want to help.”  
“You won’t after you see it.”  
“See what?”  
The Slytherin boy extended his left arm, closing his eyes tightly, not wanting to look at the other’s reaction. He shouldn’t be doing this but he needed somebody to know. Maybe Harry could help, maybe that was the answer. He didn’t want to kill Dumbledore and he definitely didn’t want to see his parents tortured and dead. Draco was desperate.  
Harry furrowed his eyebrows. “Draco, I’ve already seen your scars, remember?”  
Draco continued his incomprehensible speech. “It’s not that, there’s more. I’m sorry, Harry. I didn’t want this. I swear it. Please forgive me, I had no other choice. I’m so sorry.” Harry just stared, he wasn’t understanding what the other meant.  
The blond boy’s eyes were still closed when he realized he had to be the one to roll up his own sleeve and so he did, his hands shaking horribly while he cried.  
Then Harry finally saw it, the mark, that horrible looking dark mark that made Draco want to throw up just by knowing it was there. The brunette’s eyes widened as he let go of the blond, who fell onto the cold ground, his cries louder.  
The black haired boy just stood there, frozen by the sight.  
“Harry.” Draco pleaded. “I need you.”  
The broken boy was too much for Harry to handle. He had already forgotten about the reason why they had stopped talking, he was only thinking about that moment. Draco Malfoy, a death eater?  
“Please. My mother… I couldn’t refuse. Father, he…”  
Harry shook his head in an attempt to wake up from his own thoughts and approached the other boy again, kneeling to reach his face. He took a hold of Draco’s cheeks, making him face him. “There’s more, isn’t there?”  
Draco Malfoy simply nodded as he stared straight into Harry’s green eyes.  
“Will you tell me?”  
The other boy shook a “no” with his head.  
Harry sighed but continued. “We should go to Dumbledore, he’ll know what to do.”  
“No!” Draco shouted, releasing himself from the other’s grasp. Then he did just the opposite, he jumped onto Harry, holding him tightly as tears ran down his face. The other returned the gesture, surrounding Draco’s frail body with his arms.  
“It’s going to be ok. We’ll find a way.” Harry unconsciously placed a gentle kiss on the other’s head. Draco turned to face him, confusion in his eyes. They shared a gaze for a second or two, a gaze that was broken by Harry Potter’s lips colliding with Draco Malfoy’s.


	14. Chapter 14

Moaning Myrtle giggled as she took a hold of the sight before her. Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger were with her, the boy’s back agains’t the cold bathroom wall. They were kissing, hungrily. Who knew it was going to turn out like that?  
“Hermione?” The redheaded boy broke the kiss. “I don’t think…”  
The girl assumed what the other meant. “Don’t worry so much. You know that no one ever comes here.” She tried to meet the other’s lips again but was interrupted.  
“Well, yeah but uh… she’s here.” Ron nodded towards the transparent girl.  
“Oh don’t mind me.” Myrtle giggled once more, twirling as she did so. “I won’t tell.”  
“See? Now let’s kiss.”  
Ron was happy to oblige, even though he still felt a bit awkward knowing he was being watched. Hermione moaned into the boy’s mouth, the sound going straight to his groin. “Bloody hell, Hermione. Where did that come from?”  
“Shut up.” She whispered, an involuntary smile on her lips.  
They were still kissing when they heard whispers. “Tell me, please. You need help.” The pair pulled away quickly, their eyes wide towards each other. It was Harry but who was he with?  
Another voice was heard. “If he finds out…” It was Malfoy’s.  
Hermione and Ron listened, forgetting themselves as the sounds grew closer.  
Harry did not notice the two at first. He entered the bathroom and pulled Draco into a hug, his arms surrounding the boy, who closed his eyes as he breathed the other’s scent.  
The previously kissing two furrowed their eyebrows in confusion. Ron cleared his throat, earning a slap on the arm from the girl. “Ouch! What was that for?” The boy protested.  
Draco opened his eyes and quickly pulled away from Harry, who was startled himself.  
“What… what are you guys doing here?” The black haired boy stuttered.  
Ron swallowed as he attempted to come up with a believable excuse. He failed though and so did Hermione, who just stood there frozen until finally speaking with difficulty. “And uh… you? What are you doing here?”  
“Draco and I needed to talk that’s all.” Harry scratched his nose in a nervous tick.  
“It didn’t look like you were talking.” The redhead was rewarded with another slap. “Bloody hell…” He caressed his now bruised arm.  
“We were just… You didn’t answer my question.”  
Myrtle returned, her voice filled with mischief. “Well, if you must know, they were K.I.S…”  
“Shut up!” Ron shouted, his cheeks red.  
The ghost girl laughed in response and went to the closest stall, probably disappearing into a toilet afterwards.  
Harry understood right away what Myrtle had meant. His mouth opened in surprise. “You were… what?”  
“Nothing!” Hermione’s face turned red as well.  
“They were kissing.” Draco spoke, going straight to the point.  
“We were not!” The redhead shouted, the pitch of his voice betraying him.  
“But you’re…” Harry’s eyes were wide. He couldn’t believe what he had heard.  
“Well, it’s not like it’s happening again so d…” The girl had to attempt something, anything.  
“Not happening again?!” Ron turned to Hermione, his voice still in its previous state. She groaned in despair.  
There was no turning back now. They blew it.

Neville looked at the glass sphere in front of him. He was supposed to be seeing the future but the only thing he saw was a cloud before his eyes.  
“What do you see?” Trelawney’s voice echoed through the room. The boy didn’t know what to answer. He couldn’t just say “fog”.  
“Oh no, I think I see… the GRIM!” Blaise Zabini shouted the last word. He never did believe anything he had learned from Divination and it was definitely enjoyable to make fun of it all.  
“Stop it, Blaise! Don’t say those things!” Neville seemed slightly frightened, pushing his boyfriend away. He knew the other was just joking but professor Trelawney scared him, as well as the object before him.  
The woman sighed and looked around the room, her eyes falling over Draco. “Mr. Malfoy!”  
The boy jumped at the intruding voice, it was loud and definitely not soothing to the ear.  
“Please be kind enough to tell me what you see.”  
The blond boy didn’t make much of it. Like his friend, he didn’t truly have the patience to deal with Trelawney’s nonsense. He stared at the glass. He saw the fog the other had seen, making him breathe with boredom, but then something else appeared, a black snake approaching, making its way towards him. He felt panic rush through his body. The boy wasn’t aware of the severity of his reaction. Harry wanted to rush towards him, to keep the boy in place, to calm him down but he couldn’t, he had to stay in his seat, clenching his wrists in an attempt of self-control.  
“Mr. Malfoy! Mr. Malfoy!” The professor shouted repeatedly.  
He couldn’t breathe. He was doomed. Draco could hear his mother’s screams of agony in his head. They seemed so real, so present. The boy was screaming too, matching the voice that was filling his mind and ears. He didn’t realize he was talking too. “I couldn’t help her, I couldn’t help her…”  
All that the students were able to do was stare until the boy fainted, his body crashing onto the carpeted floor. Professor Trelawney’s arms surrounded Draco as she tried to get him up. She didn’t have the necessary strength though. “Mr. Potter, please take mr. Malfoy to the infirmary. I fear I’m not able to do so.”  
Harry nodded quickly, glad to be the one who was chosen for the task. He grabbed Draco’s arm and placed it around his neck, pulling the body up from the floor. He then carried him out of there.

They were getting out of Transfiguration when Hermione approached her friend. “You shouldn’t lead him on.”  
Harry furrowed his eyebrows. “What are you talking about?”  
“Malfoy. He likes you. If you want to help, you should stop giving him signs.”  
“What? I’m not giving him signs of anything.” The black haired boy’s widened, he could feel his stomach turn nervously.  
“Uh… we saw you hugging him the other day in Myrtle’s bathroom, remember? Hermione is right.” Ron, who had just got himself in the middle of the two, paused for a second, whispering the next sentence. He was almost afraid of the answer. “You don’t like him back, do you?”  
“What? No! Of course not! I’m not… I was just trying to help.”  
“Find other ways then.” The girl’s voice was strict, her arms crossed over her chest.  
The truth was they had kissed that day in front of the Slytherin Dungeon. In fact, Harry had been the one to initiate the action. There hadn’t been anymore kisses afterwards though, just some hugs here and there. Also, their lips hadn’t touched for long, it had been slow and tender but only lasted a few seconds. The boy did not like Draco Malfoy that way, he had just meant to comfort him somehow or, at least, that’s what he wanted to believe. Harry was still dating Ginny and he sure was attracted to his girlfriend. She was very pretty, she had flaming red hair, pink lips, a nice smile, pale skin… Draco had pale skin too… The brunette shook that thought from his mind, he couldn’t think of Malfoy that way. He was not gay, caring for a boy didn’t make him gay. He cared about Ron and that definitely didn’t mean he wanted to shag him. Thinking about that made him shudder.  
“Guys!” Neville Longbottom ran towards the trio, his breathing heavy. “Have you seen Blaise? I kind of lost him after we left the classroom. He was there and then he wasn’t.” The boy was talking really fast. The others understood him, though with difficulty.  
“I’m sorry, Neville, we haven’t. He must have gone to the bathroom or maybe Mcgonagall cornered him or something. She’s been picking on him lately.” Harry answered, glad for the change of subject.  
“Yeah…” Neville scratched the back of his neck. “Well, if you see him, tell him I’m in the library. Still haven’t done Snape’s assignment and it’s do tomorrow…” There was worry in his eyes, He had always been slightly afraid of his teacher. Well, maybe not just slightly…  
“Sure thing.” The black haired boy smiled. Neville was gone soon after, picking up his book, which had fallen on the way.

“You’re not ok.” Blaise stated as he looked at Draco.  
He had followed Malfoy into the nearest bathroom, hoping to finally be able to talk to his friend, who had been ignoring him for the past few days.  
“Leave me alone, Blaise. I’m not in the mood.” The blond boy’s voice was still weak. Even though he had Harry’s support again, his problems were far from being over.  
“Well, get in the mood.” The dark skinned boy’s voice was demanding, he wasn’t about to be brushed of by him once more. “You’re awfully skinny, Draco. I can definitely tell you haven’t been sleeping for a while. And that episode in Divination class? That was fucked up and you know it.”  
“I have a nasty flu, that’s all.” Draco didn’t even attempt a decent excuse.  
“Don’t freakin’ lie to me. You can’t possibly think I’m that stupid.” Blaise breathed soundly before continuing, his features turning softer. “Is your mother really that bad?”  
The blond didn’t want to lie, especially about his mother. The excuse he had been forced to use made him sick. Luckily, the woman was in fine health. Not ok though, of course. The whole situation had taken over his family, they were frightened, drained, and his mother deadly worried. He knew she had never wanted things to turn out how they did, she never had wanted him to carry such a burden.  
“Yes.” Draco stomach twisted inside of him as the word left his lips.  
“I’m sorry. You can always talk to me whenever you need. I want you to know that.” Blaise put a hand on his friend’s shoulder, who, fortunately, didn’t flinch.  
Draco’s lips turned upwards, his smile forced.

Draco Malfoy’s hips rocked over Harry’s. The blond boy had his eyes fixed on the other’s and his mouth slightly opened in an attempt to steady his breathing.  
The friction was making Harry mad, he suddenly felt the need to remove the layers that separated them. He want to feel the other boy’s skin agains’t his.  
Draco went down for a kiss and allowed the black haired boy to take off his shirt, leaving his torso bare. Harry moved his hand towards the back of Malfoy’s neck, pulling him closer.  
“I want you.” The blond moaned agains’t his lips.  
Draco Malfoy didn’t even wait for Harry to remove the rest of his clothing. He went straight for the other boy’s pants and boxers, taking both of them off as fast as he could. Harry attempted to control his groans as Draco’s mouth reached his cock. He sucked him hungrily, his moans vibrating agains’t the skin. The brunette’s breathing turned heavier and heavier. He was getting closer, almost there, almost reaching the climax he so desired. But he didn’t.  
Harry Potter woke up, his eyes wide open. He could barely breathe and was now sporting an erection.  
What was that? Did he just dream about…  
Harry’s hand traveled downwards, inside the sheets. Yes, he definitely had a hard bulge underneath his pajama pants.  
“Fuck…” The boy whispered to himself, getting out of his bed and making his way towards the bathroom. He desperately needed a cold shower.

Ginny kissed her boyfriend’s lips, a pleased sound escaping her. Harry moved his hand through her hair. It was soft to the touch.  
They were in the Gryffindor common room with no one there except the two of them. Harry knew what was about to happen, soon they would be in the girl’s dorm room, fulfilling their weekly ritual.  
His girlfriend got out of the sofa and led him towards their new destination. She had a big smile on her face, her hand grabbing his, pulling.  
When they reached the room, Harry grabbed Ginny and kissed her hungrily, their bodies soon falling over the girl’s bed. It wasn’t long for their clothes to come off, piece by piece.  
The redheaded girl rushed towards her nightstand and took out a condom (a muggle object that the wizard community often used). Harry entered her as soon as he put it on. They didn’t have much time that day, soon there would be students filling the tower, it was better to go straight to the point. The girl didn’t protest, she wasn’t in the mood for foreplay at the moment anyway, she just wanted her boyfriend to be inside her.  
The boy moved his hips, his erection going in and out. The girl moaned underneath him and pulled him into an eager kiss. Their tongues battled agains’t each other as the motion continued. He began going faster, Ginny obviously enjoying the sensation. Harry, however, even though it felt nice, couldn’t feel an orgasm coming any time soon. He moved his hips quickly and roughly, sweat coming out of his forehead, he was getting tired, his girlfriend had already cum and was now waiting for him to finish. The boy could feel the pressure.  
“Harry?” Ginny said.  
He didn’t answer, he was starting to feel desperate. Why wasn’t it working? He had been at it for a while. This never happened before. He had always been able to…  
The girl whimpered. “You’re starting to hurt me, Harry.”  
Harry moved his eyes towards her face, noticing her pained expression. He removed himself quickly and sat, refusing to face his girlfriend.  
Ginny placed her hand on her boyfriend’s shoulder. “It’s… it’s fine that you didn’t…”  
“It’s not.” His voice sounded tired, his breathing had yet to settle.  
“Harry, it’s no big deal.” She smiled, kissing him tenderly on the cheek in a comforting gesture.  
This couldn’t have been because of…

“You’ve been avoiding me.”  
Harry was alone, studying in the library (or attempting to do so) when Draco Malfoy suddenly appeared in front of him. The blond sat, staring at the other.  
The black haired boy’s eyes turned upwards, leaving the book. He stayed quiet.  
“We haven’t talked in a while. I thought…” Draco’s voice was soft. He had changed so much, the nasty brat he once knew long gone.  
Harry swallowed. What did Malfoy thought?  
Malfoy continued. “You say you want help me, yet you practically don’t talk to me anymore.”  
“I’ve been busy.” The boy lied, the other not believing him.  
“With?” Draco insisted, knowing that Harry did not have the answer for that.  
“Listen, you don’t want to tell me anyway so how am I sup…”  
“I’ve told you plenty.”  
“Well, not enough.” Harry’s whispers were angry, though he felt anything but.  
There was an awkward silence before the blond boy decided his next words.  
“Why did you kiss me, Harry?” Luckily, he spoke almost inaudibly, the sound only for Harry’s ears.  
“I didn’t…” The black haired boy truly didn’t want to bring up the subject.  
“You did.”  
“I was just…” Harry stopped himself before continuing.  
“What? What were you just?”  
He didn’t answer. What would he say? That he had wanted to kiss Draco that day? That he dreamt about him? That he couldn’t even…  
“You know what, Potter?” Draco Malfoy spat the last name with spite. “Fuck you.”  
Then he left. Harry gathered his books quickly and followed the blond, finally reaching him in the middle of the corridor. Damn, he moved fast…  
“Wait!” He grabbed the boy’s arm, keeping him in place, and spun him around. Harry took a hold of the sight before him. Draco’s eyes were red and filled with tears threatening to fall on top of the dark circles the boy had been carrying under. “Do you like me, Draco? Like me as…”  
The other waited before answering and then spoke softly but nervously. “Yes.”  
The “Boy Who Lived” should be shocked, scared to even touch the subject, yet he wasn’t. “When did you…”  
“I’ve always liked you, Harry. I just didn’t know it.”  
“You were always so mean though.”  
Draco just shrugged his shoulders.  
Silence.  
“You know I have a girlfriend.” Harry spoke at last.  
“Yeah.” The other’s voice was emotionless.  
“I like her.”  
“Yeah.”  
“I… but I think I…” The boy felt suddenly nervous, he was about to say something he wasn’t quite sure he should, a new discovery. But he had to say it, even if just to prove himself that it was, in fact, real. “I think I might like you better.”  
Draco’s eyes grew wide. “What?” Did he just hear right?  
“I think I might like you better.” The other repeated.  
“But the Weasley girl… she…”  
“She’s not you.”  
“Oh.”  
“Yeah.”  
The looked at each other, not certain what to say next. Not long after, Harry decided to move towards the next step. He grabbed the blond boy’s hand and pulled him to a closed space, which, gladly, was empty. He then kissed him.  
The contact was something Draco was not expecting but he closed his eyes and let himself melt into the kiss. Harry’s hands were on his cheeks, refusing to let go, keeping him in place, almost afraid the boy would run away.  
This time their lips were eager, it was not merely a comforting gesture, it was a passionate one. They both had been wanting this for a long time, even though Harry hadn’t realized it before.  
The black haired boy opened his mouth, releasing his tongue. Draco soon opened his own in response, allowing it to enter. The blond boy let a whimper of pleasure escape him and pulled the other’s shirt towards himself, so that their bodies could be closer.  
Feeling more confident, Harry let go of Draco’s face and moved towards his ass.  
Draco Malfoy suddenly felt self-conscious and pushed the other away.  
“What’s wrong?” Harry was panting, he could definitely tell Draco’s cheeks were quite noticeably red.  
“It was a bit uh… too much.” The boy confessed.  
“Sorry. I didn’t mean…”  
“It’s ok. I’m just not used to uh…”  
“Oh.” The Gryffindor reacted to the realization, a playful smile following his shock as he took a hold of the other’s waist. “Draco Malfoy, a virgin.”  
“Shut up!” The blond’s cheeks turned even redder.  
“It’s ok. Can’t complain.” The smile had yet to vanish. Harry kissed him again, this time softly. He then finished with a bite, before finally letting go.  
Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy were now a thing. The problem was: How would everyone react? Would they have to keep it a secret? Probably. Harry had to break up with Ginny though. It wasn’t right for him to cheat on her and, technically, he had just done that. But she didn’t need to know it. Not for now, at least.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another one! I’m having so much fun!  
> Enjoy :)

Ron Weasley walked towards his friend, who ate silently. The redhead seemed angry, his left fist clenched by his side as he moved. And so he did it, he reached Harry and punched him straight on the jaw, the boy almost falling from his chair. Hermione followed, she was trying to stop her boyfriend (yes, “boyfriend”; they had yet to share it with anyone though) from doing something stupid but failed.  
“What the hell was that for?!” Harry shouted in disbelief.  
“You broke up with Ginny!” Ron’s voice was loud.  
“S… So?” What could he say to that?  
“So?! What about her heart? She’s my little sister!”  
“Ron…” The boy attempted to speak but was interrupted.  
“She didn’t do anything to you. Why would you do that?”  
“It just wasn’t working out.”  
“It was for Ginny!”  
“Ron, don’t get me wrong, your sister is incredible but I just don’t love her like that.” Harry tried to reason with his friend.  
“She was crying, mate.” The Weasley’s voice was starting to lower, he appeared to be calmer now.  
“She was?” The brunette suddenly felt bad.  
“Yeah.”  
“I didn’t want her to cry. It just wasn’t fair for her. I had to break it up.” He paused. “I’m sorry, Ron. I swear I didn’t mean any harm.”  
“You need to talk to her soon, you know, after she calms down.”  
Harry just nodded.  
Hermione looked around the hall, hoping to find a new subject for their conversation. It wasn’t hard.  
“Malfoy’s not here.”  
Potter adjusted his position, the matter suddenly of great interest to him.  
“I think he went to visit his mother again.” Harry lied in an attempt to protect the boy. The truth was he didn’t know where Draco was. Well, he was probably at home yes but why? Why did he disappear so often if his mother wasn’t sick? Was he having a meeting with the… death eaters? Or worse, Voldemort himself!  
“I feel bad for him. What if she dies?” Hermione’s voice was soft as she interrupted his thoughts.  
“Bloody hell… he would only have his father then. He’s horrible!” Ron felt a shiver run through his body, he knew his words were true.  
Neville appeared, making his way into the middle of the conversation. “I know, right? And you saw how he freaked out in Divination. What was he repeating? Uh… it was “I couldn’t help her”, wasn’t it?” He stopped himself for a second. “Oh, hi guys.”  
“Hi, Neville.” The three said at once.  
Hermione continued. “What happened in Divination?”  
Oh. Hermione wasn’t taking Divination. Right. Who could forget how she stormed out of the class in third year…  
“He freaked out.” Ron answered as he went to grab a piece of bread.  
“How did he freak out?” The girl was all ears.  
“He was looking at the crystal ball and just started screaming. Then he fainted. He must have seen something bad.” The redhead took a bite of the bread. “Harry took him to infirmary afterwards.”  
Hermione turned to her friend, who seemed awfully quiet. “Did he tell you anything, Harry?”  
“Uh… no, I just took him to madam Pomfrey.”  
“Maybe he saw his mother die.” The girl guessed.  
“But that would have made him cry, not scream.” Neville continued.  
Harry had to admit, he too was curious about what Draco had seen that day.  
“Maybe it was just him coming out to his father.” Ron chewed as he talked.  
Neville furrowed his eyebrows. “Coming out?”  
“Yeah, he’s bent.”  
Harry swallowed as he heard the word “bent” coming out of his friend’s mouth.  
Neville Longbottom’s eyes were as wide as they could get. “Malfoy’s gay?!” His whispered voice was perhaps a bit loud.  
“Neville!” The girl reprehended him.  
Luckily, no one seemed to have heard, the rest of the students too wrapped up in their conversations to notice.  
Hermione slapped the back of the redheaded boy’s neck, who winced in pain. “Bloody hell, Hermione!”  
“You shouldn’t go around telling people, Ron! He’s already having a bad time, he doesn’t need you making it worse.” She seemed furious.  
“Sorry sorry.” He went back to the bread.  
Even after that subject had vanished from his friends’ minds, Harry’s thoughts continued to drift towards Malfoy. He was probably scared at that moment, following his father’s orders, shivers running through his spine as he kept thinking about how he didn’t have a choice, how he had to do what he was told. Harry wondered what was it that he was told. The only thing he knew about it was that Draco did not want to do it. It must be something bad, something really bad.

“Blaise!” Neville shook his boyfriend’s sleeping form.  
“What?” He opened his eyes to meet very wide ones, his voice was raspy and low.  
Blaise had just finally fallen asleep on the grass when Neville woke him. He hadn’t slept much that night and he was hoping to get some rest before the following class. It seemed like that wasn’t going to happen though.  
“You won’t believe what Ron told me!” He appeared shaken.  
“What?” Zabini was not that excited to hear what his boyfriend had to say at that moment, he just wanted to close his eyes and drift off to dreamland.  
“Malfoy!” Neville realized his voice was loud and lowered the volume. “Malfoy’s gay.”  
Blaise Zabini’s eyes grew wide as well. Of course, he already knew this but how did Ron Weasley…  
“I know.” The boy sighed.  
“What? And you didn’t tell me?” Neville couldn’t believe what he was hearing.  
“It wasn’t my place to tell.”  
“But I’m your boyfriend…” The boy protested.  
“And Draco is my friend.”  
“He was the one that outed us, remember? I was affected by it too! I deserved to know the true reasons behind it!”  
“Neville, I couldn’t tell you.” Blaise reached to caress his boyfriend’s face, who didn’t react to the touch and seemed hurt. He gave him a kiss on the cheek to ease the situation.  
“Did you two ever…”  
“What?! Of course not! That’s… No!” The dark skinned boy was suddenly startled by Neville’s words. Why in the hell would he even think that?  
The other seemed to have believed him. He gave a small smile and kissed Blaise on the lips, earning a “gross” from Pansy who was just passing through. Yes, they still got those from time to time.

Bellatrix laughed as she saw the results she was hoping for. Draco was soon able to do spells he had only ever heard of. The lessons were definitely working. Draco's magic was getting stronger, yet his body was weaker, his stress and desperation eating him from the inside. The boy had to distance himself somehow, he had to allow his mind to drift to other places while he was there, in the darkness, surrounded by murderers, monsters. He felt like a prisoner, an innocent man trapped in a cage filled with lunatics.  
He returned a week later, his mother had forced him to eat, only for him to throw up afterwards. His body was denying nourishment, it was like it knew that death was arriving soon and couldn’t wait.  
“Draco.” Harry said the name to himself as soon as he saw the other boy walking through the school’s corridors. He ran towards him, stopping as he reached him.  
“You look horrible.” That was the first thing that left his lips.  
“Thanks.” Draco’s voice was so soft it was difficult to hear, Harry managed somehow though.  
“You know I didn’t mean it like that.” Harry attempted to smile but his mouth just wouldn’t move. “Come, let’s go to Myrtle’s.”  
“I can’t, I have a class.”  
“Screw that. We need to talk.” The black haired boy placed his hand on the blond’s shoulder and led him towards Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom. Surprisingly, she was nowhere to be seen.  
As soon as they got there, Harry placed a hand on the other’s cheek, forcing him to look into his eyes. “Please, Draco. What are they doing to you?”  
“They’re training me.” The boy spoke quickly.  
“For what?”  
Draco clenched his jaw before speaking. “I can’t say.”  
“Dammit, Draco!” Harry let go of the boy and kicked the nearest sink. Draco jumped, startled by the action.  
The Gryffindor breathed soundly, in an attempt to calm himself. When he finally felt better, he continued. “Why don’t you trust me? You know I won’t tell anyone.”  
“You’ll tell Dumbledore.”  
“If he’s able to help then…”  
“See? That’s why I can’t tell you!” Draco raised his voice, somehow finding energy to do so. The next words were lower though, softer, defeated. “You don’t understand. You have no idea what he’ll do if I…” The blond boy began to sob. Harry wrapped his arms around him, letting Draco bury his head into his shoulder and squeeze him with as much strength as he could possibly manage.  
“Voldemort.” The black haired boy spoke the feared word.  
Draco Malfoy cried louder at the sound of that horrifying name.  
Harry moved Draco’s body, making him face him. He pressed his lips onto his head, in a gentle and long peck. The boy’s sobs lessened.  
“Tell me, Draco. I won’t tell Dumbledore.”  
The blond was about to open his mouth to protest when the other stopped him.  
“I won’t.” His voice was strong, determinate, truthful.  
“I have to kill him.” Draco finally revealed his secret, swallowing as soon as the words left his mouth.  
Harry furrowed his eyebrows. “Kill who?”  
“Dumbledore.” The boy’s face lost its emotion when saying the name.  
“That… how would…”  
“That’s why they’re training me. So I can be strong enough. I’m the only one who can enter the school, the only one with direct access to him.”  
“But…”  
“The right moment will come and I’ll have to do it.”  
“You can’t!” Harry shouted, forgetting to control his volume.  
Draco continued, ignoring the other’s plea. “If I don’t, he’ll destroy us. He will torture me, my father, my mother… Then he’ll kill us and I doubt it will be painless. That’s why I can’t refuse.”  
“If we could just tell…”  
“You promised!”  
“Fine! I’m sorry, you’re right.” Harry paused for a moment, thinking about their next move, all he could come up with was a silly idea. “I’m going to kill Voldemort.”  
“Harry…”  
“I’m getting stronger. We all are.”  
“He’ll kill you first.”  
“He’s tried so many times and hasn’t succeed once, Draco. Trust me, It’ll end with me killing the beast.”  
“Vol…” Draco stopped himself before saying the name. “He’s too strong and his power is increasing. Don’t be ridiculous. The Boy Who Lived or not, you are still a Hogwarts student.”  
“We’ll find a way out.” Harry pulled the other closer, the blond’s arms surrounding his neck as he kissed him.  
“Oh my…” Of course, Myrtle always showed up at the right moment. “I was just traveling from pipe to pipe when I heard voices, had to see whose it were. Never thought I find Harry Potter snogging Draco Malfoy.”  
The transparent girl’s eyes were wide, it seemed that she could express emotions other than her usual cries.  
“Fuck off, Myrtle.” The Gryffindor spat after releasing the other boy.  
“No need to be foul, Harry. It doesn’t suit you. You never know who I might tell…” Myrtle giggled to herself.  
“No one ever comes here anyway.” The boy attempted to brush her off.  
“Your two friends do. The ginger one and that other girl.”  
Harry swallowed, his eyes wide. He had forgotten about them. Did they really come here that often?  
“Harry, can we go?” Draco placed his hand on Harry’s, squeezing.  
“Uh… sure.”  
They left soon after, leaving a very gossip fulfilled Myrtle behind.

“Have you heard? Draco Malfoy likes it up the ass.”  
“Can’t say I’m surprise. He’s practically begging for it.”  
“That’s probably why he tried to off himself. Should have succeed too. The world would definitely be better without that faggot around.”  
Harry couldn’t believe what he was hearing. They were walking out of the bathroom when he noticed the snickers of two Slytherin boys. Draco had too, the boy had stopped his steps, a cold wave rushing through him. The Gryffindor didn’t think it was possible for the blond’s face to become paler but it did.  
“Watch out, Harry!” The tall one shouted towards him. “Malfoy might turn you gay!” The other laughed.  
“Fuck off.” Harry attempted to brush them off but the talkative one continued.  
“Oh, did you found yourself a new girlfriend? Heard you broke up with Ginny Weasley. Changed teams, uh? Well, at least this one must suck better. He does seem to have a lot of practice.”  
Harry tried to control his anger. Draco’s skin had yet to return to its previous colour, he looked over at Harry, noticing his tightly shut fist.  
The Slytherins came closer, looming over the blond boy, who refused to meet their gaze. Harry’s eyes followed them.  
“What is it, Malfoy? You don’t look so good. Is it your ass? Does it hurt? Can’t say I feel sorry f…”  
The Gryffindor couldn’t take anymore, he hit the boy right on the face, shutting him up.  
“You bloody…” The Slytherin was fuming, he touched his nose, wincing, a drop of blood dripping down his nostril. He then moved towards Harry, ready to fight back but was interrupted.  
“Boys!” Professor Mcgonagall’s loud voice filled the corridor. She must have seen the punch. “Stop this instant!”  
Harry looked at the other straight in the eyes, who looked back. The anger was still there for both of them.  
The woman looked at the bloody nose, then at Harry and Draco, who seemed perfectly intact.  
“Mr. Donavan, please make your way towards the infirmary. Potter, Malfoy, my office.”  
Mcgonagall began walking, both boys followed.

“Care to explain what happened?”  
“Nothing happened, professor.” The Gryffindor boy stated. The woman, of course, did not believe him.  
“The blood on my student’s nose begs to differ.”  
“They were just calling Dra… Malfoy names. I got mad, that’s all.”  
Her gaze moved towards Draco Malfoy, whose face was low. She sighed. “Can you tell me what names they were calling you, mr. Malfoy?”  
“It doesn’t matter what…” Harry was starting to get angry again.  
“Mr. Potter! I was not addressing you, now was I?”  
“No, professor.”  
“Mr. Malfoy?”  
“They were calling me a… a faggot.”  
Her eyebrows furrowed, a “hmm” escaping her lips. “And this is why the boy was punched then?”  
“He said other things.” Draco continued.  
“What things?”  
“Sorry, professor, I don’t really feel comfortable with…”  
“Very well.” She cleared her throat. “Now, off you go.”  
“We’re not getting detention?” Harry’s eyes grew wide.  
“Not today, Mr. Potter, no.” They were almost gone when the woman finalized the conversation. “And I have to say, I am indeed glad you two have finally stopped your nonsense. The Malfoy/Potter rivalry was becoming extremely tiring.”

“Ron!” Harry Potter approached his friend, who was studying in the library with Hermione. They were next to each other, something that was allowing him to have his hand on the girl’s thigh. The redhead pulled away from her as soon as he heard his name being called.  
“Who did you tell?” Harry was talking a bit loud, earning a few “Shhh” from the students that surrounded them.  
“Tell what?” Ron did not know what Harry was talking about.  
“About Malfoy!” The black haired boy whispered, the sound harsh but low.  
“I… I only spoke with you guys.”  
“Well, somebody must have spread the word. I had to punch a guy on the nose today.”  
“You punched someone?” The Weasley boy seemed impressed.  
“Uh… yeah.” Harry cleared his throat. He did punch someone. Who knew he had that in him?  
“Why?” Ron’s mouth was open.  
“He was calling him names. Referring to his uh… sexuality.”  
“Someone must have heard us, Harry. Let’s be honest, we were talking a bit loud that day. A lot of students were around.” Hermione, the voice of reason, intervened. She continued. “Why do you care so much anyway? I get that you don’t want him to kill himself but this is getting a bit too much. You hit a person because of him.”  
“I just got angry, that’s all. The guy was saying really nasty things. It seemed like the right thing to do.”  
Hermione furrowed her eyebrows, probably trying to get into the boy’s mind, she failed to do so, of course.  
“Oh. And by the way, I know you totally had your hand on Hermione’s thigh, Ron.” Harry finalized, a smirk on his lips. Ron turned tomato red, so did Hermione.

Blaise entered the dorm to find Draco Malfoy pacing back and forth in the room. He seemed extremely upset, on the verge of panic in fact. The boy was soon to notice an opened letter on top of the other’s bed. He looked at it for a second, his eyes then returning to his friend.  
“Is everything ok, Malfoy?”  
“Uh?”  
“I asked if everything was ok.”  
“Sure.” Draco’s voice was distant, his body might had been there but is mind was elsewhere.  
“Did you get some news? About your mother, I mean.”  
“I…” The blond boy didn’t even attempt a lie, there was no way he could come up with a good one at that moment, he was not in what one might have called a decent state. “I have to go.” Draco grabbed the letter from his bed and ran out of the room, leaving Blaise to wonder what the hell that was about.

“I’m afraid I can’t let you in without the password.”  
“But it will be quick, I just want to speak with someone.”  
“No no no. No password, no getting in.”  
Draco huffed in annoyance. It was no use, he would not be able to talk to Harry that night.  
The boy let his body slide down the wall into a sitting position. He buried his face in his arms and breathed.  
“Draco?”  
He quickly looked up to meet Harry’s eyes. Behind him were his two friends, Ron and Hermione, with a confused expression on their faces.  
“Hi.” That was all he could come up with.  
“Hi.” Harry answered quickly, furrowing his eyebrows.  
“I… I wanted to talk to you.” Draco got up, the letter in his right hand. “Uh… alone.”  
Hermione elbowed Ron, who got the clue. They went inside the portrait hole, leaving the two boys behind.  
“What’s wrong?” Harry approached the other, a hand moving to his cheek.  
“I have to leave tomorrow morning.” Draco spoke in whispers.  
“Again?”  
“Father says the… the Dark Lord wants to see me.” The volume of his voice went even lower as he extended the letter towards the other boy.  
“What?!” Harry grabbed it fast and attempted to read it hurriedly.  
“He probably just wants to see my progress.”  
“And you’re going?” He wasn’t able to read at that moment, the blond’s words were enough.  
“I have no other choice, Harry.”  
Harry Potter gazed into Draco’s eyes, what he was looking for he did not know but the calmness in the boy was frightening him. “Draco.”  
The Slytherin’s face moved closer to Harry’s, his lips colliding with the other’s for about 10 seconds. It was a short kiss but it had meant a lot.  
“I love you, Harry Potter.”  
The black haired boy froze, his eyes wide and mouth open. He didn’t know how to react to the confession. The truth was he was falling in love too, it just felt too soon for him to say the words. And so, he simply pulled Draco towards him, meeting his mouth once more.  
“Harry.” The blond boy whispered, releasing his lips.  
“No. Don’t pull away.” Harry moved his body closer, pinning the other onto the wall. His hands ran through blond hair, pulling it slightly as he deepened the kiss. Draco moaned into his mouth.  
“We’ll get through it. Together.” The Gryffindor took the opportunity to speak when moving towards the boy’s ear. Harry didn’t know what they could do to make everything better, to defeat the monster that threatened both of their lives, but they would do it, that he was certain of.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My MacBook charger just passed away.  
> Rest In Peace...  
> Battery is almost dead. I hope I can buy one first thing tomorrow... or else, no update! Horror!

The Malfoy manor was even colder than the last time, the lights almost inexistent, the boy almost couldn’t see his surroundings. He knew his father was directing him towards the living room though. Draco was nervous, he knew who waited there. A cold shiver ran through his spine. How would he be tested? Would he have to perform spells? And what if he failed to impress? Would he be killed? Maybe this was it, his last day. He would never see Harry again. The thought was too much for him to handle, his heart tightening inside his chest. Their goodbye should have lasted longer, it should have been more meaningful, he should have kissed him more passionately, he should have…  
“Draco!” His father’s voice rang in his ears, waking him up from the unwanted thoughts that plagued his mind.  
The blond boy realized he was freezing, his body shivering from the cold temperature of the room. He was getting closer.  
Draco looked up after his father released his shoulder. He saw him then. The “Dark Lord” right before him, his eyes fixed on him. He felt as if his life was being sucked. Maybe soon he would be nothing but a still body.  
“Come closer, child.” That horrible voice spoke.  
The boy obliged, his steps slow and steady.  
“Not enough.” He seemed to be getting impatient.  
Draco swallowed, moving so close he could feel the cold emanating from the monster’s body. He suddenly felt two corpse like hands resting on both sides of his head. The blond’s heart was beating fast, he never had felt such fear. Voldemort then closed his eyes, whispering inaudible words to himself. Draco Malfoy saw how his head fell slightly backwards, how the other’s body stood like a rock. However, as soon as it began, it ended.  
The Dark Lord woke up from his trance-like state. His expression unreadable. He spoke at last. “Lucius?”  
Lucius Malfoy walked quickly towards his master, responding to his name. “Yes, my lord?”  
“The boy will fail.”  
Draco’s eyes grew wide. He felt like he could collapse at any moment. Failure meant only two things in that scenario. Torture and death. He looked at his father, who seemed on the verge of panic himself.  
“Excuse me, my lord, but Draco is getting stronger. He will be able to fulfill his task. It’s only a matter of time.”  
“His powers might have grown but his mind is weak.”  
Lucius did not continue his speech, Voldemort did. “Tell me, Draco.” The blond boy’s eyes moved quickly towards the dark wizard, he could feel his stomach turn at the use of his name. “Will you stand by my side when I kill Harry Potter?”  
Draco had forgotten how to breathe. He wouldn’t, he would rather die than let him touch Harry.  
“Answer the question, Draco.” His father ordered.  
The boy closed his fists tightly, his eyes looking straight into the Dark Lord’s. “No.”  
A loud collective breath was heard from the ones who were surrounding them. His mother’s voice echoed around the room. “Draco…” She was scared.  
Voldemort’s gaze stayed frozen, directed towards Draco, who had yet to advert his.  
“Crucio.” With a wave of a wand, the blond boy fell onto the floor, agonizing pain rushing through his body, his screams overpowered the room.  
Narcissa rushed towards her son, in an attempt to calm his pain, tears were rushing down her cheeks. There was no use, she would not be the one able to stop his agony. Luckily, the Dark Lord, waved the stick again, the pain leaving the boy’s body. The minutes it had lasted though carried the most horrible sensation Draco had ever felt, much worse than the moment he was branded with the dark mark.  
“Draco wasn’t thinking, my lord.” Lucius tried to excuse his son.  
“He did not lie, Lucius. He will never betray Harry Potter. And why is that, Draco?”  
The boy couldn’t answer, his body still too weak to speak.  
Voldemort sighed. “He loves him, Lucius.”  
Lucius Malfoy’s eyes went wide, turning instinctively towards Draco, who had yet to stand.  
“Love is a dangerous thing. It will be the boy’s downfall. It is true that he will fail to complete his task yes, however, he is, in fact, a powerful asset. He will be of great use to us.”  
Draco listened to the words as he tried to make sense of the reasons behind them.  
“He shall not return to Hogwarts.”

More than a month went by and Draco had yet to be seen walking through the school’s corridors. Harry was worried, really worried. Something must have happened, something really bad.  
The Boy Who Lived bit his nails, his legs nervously shaking. He was at the Clock Tower, attempting to distract himself with the view before him when Ron and Hermione showed up, their breathing heavy. They had been running.  
“Harry! Where have you been? We’ve been looking everywhere for you!” Hermione Granger’s shouts were ignored.  
“Bloody hell! We’re worried, mate. You’ve been disappearing all the time! Did we do something to you? Also, you need to talk to Ginny! You need to make things right!” The redhead’s voice was angry.  
Harry had yet to answer. His back was turned towards his friends, his face hidden. He wasn’t exactly crying but his eyes were red and his jaw was almost trembling.  
“Harry?” The girl’s voice turned softer at the realization that maybe her friend was not well. She came closer to him and tried to place her hand on his shoulder, forcing him to turn in their direction, but he just flinched.  
“He didn’t come back.” The black haired boy’s voice was small.  
“What are you talking about?” Ron was the first to ask.  
“Draco.”  
“Oh.” The redhead reacted, continuing his speech as he tried to reason with his friend. “Well, his mother, maybe she…”  
“She’s not sick.” Harry confessed, revealing part of the blond boy’s secret.  
“What do you mean?” Hermione’s face turned from worry to confusion.  
“His mother, she’s not sick. She never was.”  
“How… how do you know that?” Ron spoke once more.  
“I know more than you think.” Harry’s voice grew stronger.  
Hermione and Ron shared a glance.  
“Uh… Harry? We’ve been meaning to ask you this for a while. Your behaviour, it’s… well… it has been a bit… strange. When it comes to Malfoy, that is. Are you…” The girl paused before her voice returned. “Are you two more than friends?”  
“What?” This time the boy did turn towards the other two.  
“You are, aren’t you?” Ronald Weasley seemed uncomfortable.  
Harry didn’t know how to answer his question. “I…”  
“It’s ok, mate, we won’t judge. We just want to know, that’s all.” Ron assured him.  
Harry nodded a “yes”.  
“That’s why you broke up with Ginny, isn’t it?” The wild haired girl intervened.  
The boy repeated the gesture.  
Hermione released a small smile, this time succeeding in putting her hand on her friend’s shoulder.  
There was an awkward silence until Harry continued the previous subject. “Something happened to him.”  
“What do you think happened?” The ginger boy scratched the back of his neck, still feeling a bit uncomfortable.  
“Like I said before: I know more than you think.” The black haired boy continued.  
“What do you know?” Hermione pushed.  
“I promised I wouldn’t say but…” Harry sighed, his eyes closed. “Things have changed. I have to.”  
Neither of the other two said a word.  
“Draco has the black mark.”  
“What?!” The pair exclaimed, shock written all over their faces.  
“Listen! Don’t assume things! Draco has the black mark yes but it was forced on him. He never wanted any of it to happened. He had no other choice. His family was at risk.”  
“He’s a death eater, Harry.” Hermione could barely believe what she had just heard.  
“He’s not a death eater, Hermione!” Harry Potter’s voice was harsh, he had to defend Draco.  
“I’m sorry! Continue, please.” The girl’s voice was soft when speaking the last sentence.  
“If he had refused his mission then he would have been tortured and killed and his mother and father too. He had to accept. There was no other option. He had to protect them.”  
“What… What is his mission?” Ron was the one to speak.  
“To kill Dumbledore.”  
There was silence.  
“Harry, that’s ridiculous. I highly doubt Draco Malfoy is powerful enough to kill Albus Dumbledore.” Hermione almost laughed at the idea.  
“They’ve been training him. He’s the only one that has access to him. It had to be Draco.”  
“Why do you think he hasn’t came back yet?” The redheaded boy said, his voice anything but accusing.  
“I… I don’t know.” Harry Potter was awfully filled with worry and fear.  
“Dumbledore will help.” The girl was certain of it. “He’s our only option.”  
Harry nodded. It was true.

The three of them were able to get to Albus Dumbledore’s office in less than 10 minutes. As soon as they got there, Harry began explaining how Draco had yet to return from his supposedly short visit to his mother.  
“I’ve been told.” Dumbledore’s voice echoed along the room.  
“Do you know the real reason?” Hermione was all ears.  
The old wizard’s words continued. “The letter said it to be due to his mother’s health but I have yet to believe those words.”  
“What… what do you know?”  
“I know that Lucius Malfoy as joined Voldemort’s army and I also know that this does not come to you as a surprise. Draco though, well, he is most likely just following his father’s steps.”  
“He didn’t have a choice!” The black haired Gryffindor shouted in desperation, he couldn’t take it anymore. He didn’t want anyone to believe Draco was like those monsters, he wasn’t.  
“Harry, your relationship with the boy should not affect your judgement.”  
How did Dumbledore… Harry shook those thoughts away and continued to protest. “It’s true! Professor Dumbledore, please, you have to help him. You’re his only hope.”  
“You said he was given a task. Could you tell me what it was?”  
“Uh…” The three hesitated.  
Hermione was the first to speak. “To kill you, professor.”  
Dumbledore couldn’t help but furrow his eyebrows.

“Draco, please, you have to eat something.” Narcissa Malfoy begged, her hands shaking as she thought about previous events.  
“I’m not hungry.” The blond boy was lying on his bed, his face resting over his arms. It was difficult to hear his voice, so weak and hidden, but his mother understood his words.  
“Draco.”  
There was silence following his name.  
“What is he going to do with me?” Draco moved his head, facing his mother’s eyes.  
“He wants you to bring Harry Potter to him.” The woman placed her hand on her son’s cheek, caressing the skin.  
“How will I even do that if I’m stuck here?”  
“The Dark L… He believes he will come for you.” Narcissa stopped herself before addressing Voldemort by his title, she knew it could upset Draco. She breathed soundly as she proceeded to give him a peck on the cheek. Then the woman continued. “Draco, what is your relationship with that boy?”  
The blond boy felt uncomfortable all of the sudden.  
“Is he your… boyfriend?”  
“I… I don’t know.” His words came out in a stutter.  
Narcissa thought before responding to her son’s confession. “You love him.”  
“Yes.”  
“You defied the Dark Lord for him.”  
“Yes.”  
“You are lucky to be alive.”  
“I know.”  
Narcissa Malfoy could not control herself any longer. She let a sob escape her lips and began to cry, her hands flying towards her face. Draco got up into a sitting position and placed his arms around his mother in an attempt of comfort. The boy wanted to cry himself.

A letter came a few days later to the Gryffindor tower. Harry was sitting on his bed, failing to fall asleep, when an owl arrived, an envelope on its beak.  
The paper object fell onto the boy’s lap, the animal disappearing soon after.  
Harry Potter stared, his eyes wide. He could recognize the envelope, it was from the Malfoy Manor. He opened it fast and clumsily. He wanted to see what was on it. Draco had written, Draco had written, Draco had written… The thing is, it wasn’t Draco’s handwriting. Disappointment filled the boy’s body. Disappointment that soon turned to concern as he began reading.

Harry Potter,

It has been long since we last spoke. I am aware that you know I don’t enjoy your company very much but I must think of my son, who I realize has grown rather fond of you.  
Draco is ill. I believe his mother’s sickness to be contagious. He must have neglected to prevent it.  
I will open my house to you. It would be of great joy to my son if you would visit him this Saturday.  
I hope you accept the invitation. We’ll be awaiting your visit.

Lucius Malfoy

It was obviously a trap. Harry knew that for certain. Yet, he wanted to see Draco again. It was worth the risk. The boy needed to find out the truth, needed to make sure he was safe. He was going to visit the Malfoys, consequences be damned. 

“Harry, you can’t go!”  
“I’m going, Hermione!”  
“It’s a trap!”  
“I know it’s a trap but what else can I do? I need to see him!”  
“Harry, that place is filled with death eaters, you won’t stand a chance.”  
Harry didn’t answer, he knew she was right. He would be dead as soon as he stepped foot in that house. He placed his hands over his face in desperation.  
“Harry?”  
The boy didn’t move. Hermione sighed, removing his hands herself. “I know you care about him.”  
“I love him, Hermione.” Harry admitted for the first time.  
Ron, who had just been sitting there looked extremely awkward, the knowledge of his friend’s relationship with Draco Malfoy still an uncomfortable subject for him to hear. He grabbed another piece of steak and threw it onto his plate hurriedly. They were having dinner.  
“What if they think he’s useless and kill him? They’ve obviously found out about us. I mean, why else would Lucius Malfoy invite me to their house? They are using him to get to me. And if they can’t get to me through him, they will most likely dispose of him.”  
Hermione understood what Harry was saying. It was true that if they thought Malfoy to be useless, they wouldn’t hesitate to kill him.  
“What’s the plan then?” The girl knew this was going to be difficult and extremely dangerous.  
First thing is first, they would not be visiting the Malfoys on Saturday. However, this wasn’t the most clever idea ever because it was possible that the death eaters were thinking ahead of them, waiting not only Saturday but every day for Harry to come.  
Second, they would use the Cloak of invisibility. And, of course, go together.  
Third, they would not tell anyone about their plan, even Dumbledore. The three of them had fought about this. Hermione had insisted but had been utterly ignored. Harry knew if he told the headmaster he would be forbidden to go. He couldn’t risk that. They had to do it alone. How would they travel though? Floo powder seemed to be the best option, however, extremely risky. They also lacked the power to apparate from place to place and the Malfoy manor was far from the castle.  
“Brooms!” Harry said with excitement.  
“Brooms? But that will take so long!” Ron protested.  
“Do you have a better idea?”  
“Uh… no but…” Ronald Weasley sighed. “If only we still had the car…”  
“The car?” Hermione seemed confused.  
“Yeah the one from second year, when we lost the train.” Ron explained.  
“Oh. Where did it go?”  
“Forbidden Forest.” It was Harry’s turn to speak.  
“Great!” The girl jumped from her seat. “Let’s go to the Forest and search for it. It has an invisibility function, right?”  
“Uh, yeah but it’s broken.”  
“Pff! So? We’ll fix it. Easy.”  
“Hermione, you don’t get it. The car is really fucked up.” There was no way to rescue it in the redhead’s perspective.  
“Are you doubting my skills?” The girl raised her eyebrows.  
“You’re telling us you can fix it?” Harry copied the gesture.  
“Of course I can fix it! I can’t believe you didn’t even try.”  
Harry and Ron looked at each other as they thought about their friend’s words. 

She fixed it. They found the car an hour later and the girl had fixed it, all it took was a few waves of her wand. She sure showed them.  
That night was going to be eventful.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m back!  
> Finally have the charger. It was soooo expensive. Bloody Apple…  
> But, ignoring that, here it is! The next chapter!  
> I hope you enjoy reading it. I’m not that confident about this one and I guess I was a bit evil in the end. I apologize for that, couldn’t help myself ;)

Getting to the Malfoy manor had been the easiest part. Hedwig had shown them the way and, two and a half hours later, they had arrived.  
“Bloody hell…” Ronald Weasley had been the most impressed as he took a hold of the sight before him. Draco Malfoy’s house was big, really big. It was vastly different to The Burrow, the Weasley place was small and cramped, it had nothing to do with the massive building in front of them. “How are we ever gonna find Malfoy?”  
Harry and Hermione did not answer the redhead’s question. It was a mystery to them as well how they would complete their mission.  
“Do you think the car is far enough?” Hermione said, breaking the silence.  
“I think so. You left the invisibility function on, right?” Harry asked, his eyes turning to Ron.  
“Yeah yeah, don’t worry…” The boy answered with confidence, that is until… “Uh you know where it is though, don’t you?”  
The two brunettes shared a glance. Hermione was the first to speak. “We’ll find it.”  
They walked towards the impressibly big house, taking their time as they avoided stepping on the cloth that covered their bodies. Luckily they found a way in through the back of the house. Opening the door had been easy, just a simple spell needed. The next step was going quietly towards the upstairs floor, bedrooms are always up some stairs. 

Draco Malfoy was lying awake on his bed when he heard footsteps in the corridor. It was 2 a.m. and he was hearing the sound of feet outside his bedroom. Why would anyone be walking so close to his room at that time of night? Were they guarding him? It wasn’t like he could escape. Why would he anyway? So he and his family could die a slow and painful death? Also, his door wasn’t even locked. Him leaving wasn’t even a possibility in the others’ minds. Shouldn’t they be in the living room, discussion their evil plans?  
“So, what do we do now?” Draco heard a familiar whisper coming from the other side of his door. But whose was it? It sounded young.  
“We search the place.” A girl’s voice?  
“What if we open a door and we are discovered by “You Know Who” himself? Admit it, of all of them, this is not our most ingenious plan.” The first person continued.  
“We’ll just have to be really careful.”  
These two people… he knew them. But who were they? Draco thought about the possibility of opening the door. These were not death eaters, that much was obvious. These were kids who had just trespassed the Malfoy household. They couldn’t be that dangerous, right?  
The blond boy got up from his bed, hesitating before his feet began to move. He stopped at the door, his ear resting on wood, hoping to gather more information.  
“Admit it. We’re screwed.”  
“Shut up, Ron. We’re not…”  
Draco stopped listening suddenly, freeing himself from the flat surface. He knew who that whisper belonged to and he knew it well. Harry. The boy opened the door careful. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. No one was there. Except there was. Not long after the boy left his room, a head popped out literally in the middle of thin air. Draco smiled widely. “Harry?”  
The cloth fell onto the floor and the trio was revealed. The blond pulled them quickly towards his bedroom, closing the door as fast as he could, keeping the noise to a minimum. He then placed his arms tightly around his beloved’s body, who returned the hug. He wanted to kiss him right there and it was obvious the other boy wanted to do the same but it was too awkward of a situation, they were not alone.  
“What… what are you doing here?” Draco was still smiling, even though he knew he probably shouldn’t. Not in this scenario.  
“We came to get you.”  
“But… but I can’t leave, Harry.” The boy’s lips lips returned to their previous state.  
“It’s not safe here. Dumbledore will protect you. And your family too. You have to come back to Hogwarts with us.”  
Hogwarts? Draco came to a realization. Harry, Ron and Hermione had just left the castle, most likely without permission. “You’re gonna get expelled.”  
“We’re not gonna get expelled.” Hermione attempted to hide the panic in her voice. She failed. Ron stayed quiet.  
“That’s the least of our worries, Draco.” Harry took a hold of the blond boy’s arms, making him face him. “We need to get you out of here.”  
“But mother. She…”  
“You can bring her with us.”  
“I can’t. She will never…”  
“Draco, please. You look terrible. This whole situation is eating you alive. You need help and you know it.”  
“Do we really think Dumbledore…”  
“He will keep you safe. Voldemort won’t touch you if you have Dumbledore by your side.”  
“But it’s not about me, Harry. You don’t realize what he’s capable of. He…” Draco stopped himself before revealing too much.  
“He what?” Harry felt a wave of concern wash over him.  
“It doesn’t matter. All it matters is that you should get out of here. It’s not safe. Especially for you, Harry. You shouldn’t have come.”  
“You’re going with us.” The black haired boy insisted.  
“I can’t!”  
“I’m not leaving you here, Draco!”  
Their whispers were harsh yet low enough for them to stay hidden.  
“Draco?” A new voice was heard. It was a woman, Narcissa Malfoy.  
“It’s mom!” Draco began to panic. “You have hide!”  
They did just that. The trio went to the furthest corner as quickly as they could and hid bellow the cloth.  
The boy’s mother entered the room.  
“You’re awake.” She wasn’t very surprised, she knew her son had been having trouble sleeping. “I’m gonna get you something to eat.”  
“I… I’m not hungry.” Draco cursed inwardly. He should have said ok just to get her out of the room.  
“You barely ate today, Draco. You need to be strong. You’ll need to able to defend yourself when…” Narcissa stopped for a moment as she attempted to keep herself from falling apart She couldn’t though, the woman began to cry silently. “He hurt you. I couldn’t stop him hurting you.”  
Harry, who was still hidden, was startled by the latest news. He hurt Draco? How?  
“It was my fault.” It was true, he had defied the Dark Lord.  
“It wasn’t supposed to turn out like this.” Narcissa’s voice was small.  
“Mom…”  
“We need to get you out of here.”  
“What?” His mother wanted him to leave?  
“You need to get out of this place. He’s going to kill you soon.” The last words were difficult to say.  
“I’m not leaving without you.”  
“Forget about us, Draco. You’re young. This isn’t your fault. We were the ones…” The woman seemed to be on the verge of falling a part again.  
Draco thought about Harry’s words. Maybe he was right. “What… what if you came with me?”  
“Come with you?”  
“Yes, come with me to Hogwarts. Dumbledore will keep us safe.” He repeated what had been said to him.  
“Dumbledore?”  
“Please, mother.”  
“And how would we go to…”  
“Harry.” He called, looking behind, towards the hidden trio, who uncovered themselves after a moment of hesitation.  
Narcissa’s eyes grew big. “What…”  
“They came to get me. You can come to. We’ll be safe.” Draco explained.  
Harry wanted to kiss the boy. He was finally accepting his words.  
“We have a car.” Ron opened his mouth, speaking for the first time after entering the room.  
“A car?” The woman was having trouble believing the situation she had found herself in.  
Draco was confused. They got there in a car? A muggle car? How…  
“Yes and we don’t have much time. Only a few hours before day comes. We have to leave now.” Hermione intervened, her voice carrying a hint of authority.  
“What about your father?”  
Draco hesitated for a moment before speaking. He loved his father but this was his fault, the start of it all, and he knew he would never agree to come and leave his “master” behind. “He’ll live.” The boy’s voice was cold.  
Narcissa found her son’s words surprising but she couldn’t blame him. Lucius had been anything but a good father to Draco. She sometimes doubted if he had ever loved his son. “Ok.” Hopefully, she wouldn’t regret this.

The sun was rising when the five of them arrived at Hogwarts. Throughout the journey, Narcissa’s eyes had travelled towards her son, who had his head resting on top of Harry Potter’s shoulder, the other holding him as Draco slept. Her heart warmed at the sight. It was strange to see Draco being so intimate with another boy but, at the same time, she was glad to see her son loved by someone other than herself. Also, the blond boy was finally sleeping, something that allowed her to feel great relief. 

Dumbledore seemed to have been expecting them. He smiled when he saw mother and son entering his office and prepared the words of comfort that soon left his mouth.  
A room was arranged for Narcissa in the teachers’ rest area and Draco was to go back to his old dorm and would soon return to his studies. Everything seemed fine for the time being. They were safe for now.

Draco Malfoy was lying on Harry Potter’s bed. How things turned out like this a mystery. It was very late and Harry had insisted for the blond to stay in his room. Hopefully, they wouldn’t get too many questions from his roommates, who still slept, unaware of the recent events. Ron Weasley was asleep as well, his snores the proof of it. They had cast a silencing spell, making it possible for them to talk as much as they wanted without waking up the others.  
“I still can’t believe we’ve made it.” Harry smiled as he kissed the boy’s head. “And it wasn’t hard! I guess they weren’t counting with an invisibility cloak.”  
“I guess not.” Draco turned his head to face the black haired boy, his lips touching the other’s, who sighed in content. He then moved his hands towards Harry’s cheeks, pulling him closer. The kiss intensified.  
“Draco.”  
“Yes?” The blond muttered agains’t the other boy’s mouth.  
Harry pulled away, his face carrying now a serious expression. “I’ve been wanting to tell you something.”  
“What?” Draco was concerned all of the sudden, without any reason to though.  
“I love you.”  
The Slytherin’s eyes grew wide for a second but his surprise soon vanished as he moved to meet the other’s lips once more, more eagerly this time. He then placed himself on top of Harry. Harry moved their bodies again though, battling Draco. He wanted to be on top and wasn’t going to allow the blond to win.  
Draco Malfoy laughed at the sudden change. Whatever the black haired boy wanted was ok by him.  
The Gryffindor hungrily moved his lips towards the other’s neck. He wanted to leave a mark on his skin, wanted to claim him as his own. The blond boy released a barely controlled moan at the action.  
“We can stop if you want.” Harry spoke after finishing his task.  
“I don’t want to stop.” Draco whispered shyly, his face growing red at the realization that he was most likely about to have sex with Harry Potter.  
Harry swallowed at the other’s answer. He too was now red as tomato, his nervousness was kicking in.  
“Harry?” The blond called, his eyebrows furrowing. Why wasn’t the other reacting.  
“Bloody hell.” The Gryffindor whispered to himself. Draco could not understand his words, they were barely audible. Harry suddenly resumed their snog, the boy was feeling confident even though shy and with his heart beating fast. “Can I say it, Draco?”  
“Say what?”  
“Uh… I really want to…” Harry stopped himself, regretting his words. He didn’t want to sound too demanding, too dirty, he didn’t want this all to be too overwhelming for Draco to bare.  
“To fuck me?” The blond boy completed his sentence, a playful smile on his lips. The other was shocked at hearing the word leaving Draco’s lips but he had to admit, it was incredibly arousing. He just nodded quickly in response and pulled the other closer, his hands moving towards his ass, groping it slightly as their growing erections grew closer.  
“Do you think it’s going to hurt a lot?” Draco asked shortly after, pulling away. He was suddenly a bit scared.  
“We can ease the pain.” Harry didn’t want to harm the other but he was aware that there would be some pain involved.  
“How?”  
“Lube. I… I know a spell.”  
“What? There’s a spell for that?”  
“Yeah.”  
“How do you know…”  
“Uh… Ginny told me about it. We used to…”  
“Harry, please shut up.” Draco removed his shirt fast. He surely didn’t want to discuss Ginny Weasley. Not when they were about to…  
The Gryffindor’s mouth attacked the other’s shoulders with kisses, licks and bites. Draco Malfoy was in heaven, he hadn’t realized Harry could be so, well, good at it. He moaned softly, attempting not to make too much noise. Even though they had cast a silencing spell, the blond still felt too self-conscious to be comfortable with letting go completely.  
However, the sounds were still enough to go straight to The Boy Who Lived’s groin. “Fuck, I want you.” Harry whispered, removing his own pajama shirt in a quick motion before attacking the boy’s skin once more.  
“Harry?”  
“Yes?”  
“Can I suck you?”  
“Bloody hell, you don’t need to ask that.”  
Draco laughed and proceeded to release the other from his pants, freeing his cock. He flipped their bodies, now he was the one who wanted to be on top. He licked down Harry’s torso, reaching his goal slowly and teasingly. The action was making the Gryffindor mad.  
“Draco?”  
The blond didn’t answer, he simply gave an experimental lick, earning a groan from the other boy. He then continued, exploring with his tongue, sucking shortly after. Draco gladly finished before the other boy could cum, neither one wanted this to be finished so soon.  
“Move.” The Slytherin attempted to push the other to the side, demandingly. There he was, the Draco Malfoy Harry knew so well.  
The black haired boy did just that, giving Draco some space next to him. The blond boy then placed himself with his front agains’t the sheets, lying completely on the mattress.  
Harry gulped. Draco had a really nice ass.  
“So? What are you waiting for?” The boy was not impatient, even though his speech said otherwise. He merely wanted to tease Harry, to make him realize that, even though he was the one being fucked, he was in charge. Yes, the old Malfoy had yet to vanish.  
The black haired boy shook his head, waking up from his thoughts. He was about to screw a guy and said guy was Draco Malfoy. Bloody hell… He placed himself on top of Draco, straddling his hips, his hard cock touching the other’s ass, who breathed soundly at the sensation. Fuck, that was hot. Harry then waved his wand in its direction, liquid filling the hole. The blond felt a shiver run through his body in reaction to the cold sensation.  
“C… can I…” Harry Potter was nervous, really nervous.  
“Harry, you can do whatever you want.” Draco released a laugh at the boy’s awkwardness.  
“Ok.” The black haired boy placed a finger inside the other’s hole, then added more as he stretched the area. He knew he needed to prepare him first. He truly didn’t want to hurt Draco. “Y… you ready?”  
Draco didn’t say a thing. He merely turned around, sat and gave Harry a hungry kiss, only to return to his previous position. He was ready.  
The Gryffindor swallowed nervously as he entered the other boy. It felt good, it was tight and warm, and Draco’s whimpers were damn right heavenly. “Fuck.” He began to move, rocking his hips, his cock going in and out.  
“Harry.” The blond moaned, the wanted pleasure reaching his body.  
The other was enjoying it too. The sensation was overwhelming. He let himself groan with each thrust, his breathing heavy due to the repeated movement.  
“Go faster.” Draco whispered, almost unable to speak. “Please.”  
Harry did just that. He moved faster, the blond boy’s moans growing louder. When he felt more confident he increased the speed, his hands resting on the other’s hips as he pulled him closer. “Harry.” Draco kept repeating his name, sometimes not being able to finish the word, his speech interrupted by his own whimpers of pleasure.  
The black haired boy moved quickly. Sweat was flowing down his forehead as his hips collided with the others ass roughly. They were almost there, almost reaching the finish line when…  
“Fuck.” An intruder.  
Harry and Draco pulled themselves quickly away from each other. Harry wanted to strangle his friend. A really uncomfortable and white as hell Ronald Weasley had just caught them and very nicely interrupted the act.  
Harry waved his wand in a quick motion, ending the spell, panic written all over his face, Draco didn’t look so well either.  
“I… I’m sorry. I didn’t want to uh…” The redhead was finding it difficult to search for the right words. He couldn’t believe what he had just saw.  
“S… Shouldn’t you be sleeping?” That was all Harry could come up.  
“I wanted to go to the bathroom.” Ron’s voice’s pitch was high. He always spoke like that when he was uncomfortable. And, right at that moment, he was extremely.  
“Maybe I should go.” Draco finally spoke. All he wanted was to run away. Ron Weasley had just saw him being fucked in the bloody ass. He wanted to crawl into a hole and stay there for eternity. Harry grabbed his arm before he could leave though.  
“Uh Ron, maybe we should…”  
“Forget this ever happened?”  
“Yeah.”  
Fuck their luck. It was their first time together and, even worse, it was Draco’s first time ever. And Ron Weasley had just ruined it. Harry just hoped they could overcome this overly embarrassing situation.


	18. Chapter 18

The next day, breakfast was excruciating. Even though the two friends had agreed to forget about what happened the previous night, things were still rather odd between them. Ron Weasley had yet to erase the image from his mind.  
“Ok! That’s it! Why are you acting so strange today? Something must have happened. Harry. Harry!” Hermione Granger was not in the mood. She could tell both boys were extremely uncomfortable around each other. Or they told her what had occurred or she would force it out of them. Harry was looking away as she spoke, she shouted his name until he woke from his slumber. Also why wasn’t Draco Malfoy with them? Was he avoiding the trio? That didn’t make any sense.  
“What?!” The black haired boy’s voice was maybe a bit too loud, alerting the attention of unwanted students, who turned their gaze towards him instinctively.  
“Keep your voice down, you idiot!” The girl whispered harshly towards her friend. It didn’t seem like they wanted to share their apparent secret, especially not with all of Hogwarts.  
The kids that surrounded them turned their gaze back to their friends, their curiosity vanishing as they went back to their previous conversations.  
“So, are you gonna talk or what?” Hermione insisted, her voice low.  
“Nothing happened.” Harry truly didn’t want to recall last night’s events.  
“Nothing happened?!” Ron seemed to want to share after all. “I saw you with your dick inside bloody Draco Malfoy’s ass!” Luckily, his volume matched the girl’s.  
Hermione’s eyes grew big. “You had sex last night?”  
“Thanks for sharing, asshole!” Harry Potter punched his friend in the shoulder, Ron almost falling.  
“Hey! No need to get all violent.” The redhead caressed his now bruised limb in an attempt to ease the pain.  
“Wait wait wait.” The wild haired girl shook her head. “Let me rephrase this. Ron caught you and Malfoy having sex?” She spoke each other carefully, one by one.  
“Yes!” Harry dropped his head onto his arms. “And it’s not like we even finished, this freakin’ jackass interrupted us!”  
“I was shocked! I couldn’t help but react.”  
“It was Draco’s first time! You traumatized him for life!”  
Meanwhile, Draco Malfoy had entered the Great Hall. His head was low as he noticed their presence. The blond walked straight towards the Slytherin table, only to be spit out after arriving at his destination.  
“No bloody way, fag! You’re not sitting next to us.” A particularly unattractive Slytherin boy shouted towards him.  
“There’s no other space available.” Draco defied the other, even though his voice was soft.  
“Not my problem, shirtlifter! Go blow some guy and leave us alone.” The jackass’ voice was way too loud.  
After the slur, Harry was quick to notice the blond’s presence, even though he was far away. He got up from his seat and walked towards the attacker, forgetting about the previous subject.  
“Is there a problem here?” The Gryffindor’s voice appeared calmed, he was anything but though.  
“Of course, there’s a problem. This faggot wants to sit next to me! No way I’m bumping shoulders with this disgusting freak!”  
Harry pulled out his wand in a quick motion, pointing it straight to the Slytherin’s neck, his relaxed appearance long gone. “Call him that again and see what happens, douchebag!” He was shouting.  
The boy threw his hands up in the air in a defensive position, he seemed worried. “Bloody hell, Potter. Why are you sticking up for him anyway? He’s a freakin’ cock sucker.”  
The black haired boy was fuming now. No way he was going to let him get away with that. “Everte Statum!”  
The Slytherin douche didn’t have a chance to defend himself, he was quickly hit by a beam of light, his body jerking backwards in a rotating movement until he fell onto the floor, a cry of pain was heard.  
“Potter!!!” Snape got up from his seat as quickly as he possibly could and ran towards the boys, he was undoubtedly pissed off. Even though the man wasn’t the only one shocked, he was the only to react.  
“He deserved it!” Harry shouted in his own defense.  
“It doesn’t matter if he deserved it or not, you are not to attack other students!”  
“But, professor, he…”  
“No buts, Potter! Detention!”  
“It wasn’t his fault!” Draco attempted to shield Harry.  
“Mr. Malfoy, I wasn’t talking to you, now was I?”  
“No, sir.” The blond dropped his head in defeat.  
“Come, Potter.” The man grabbed the Gryffindor’s arm, who kept protesting, pulling him towards the exit.

Blaise and Neville were enjoying their time in between classes. They were sitting on a bench in the Courtyard. Blaise had his hand in his boyfriend’s hair, kissing his lips soft and repeatedly.  
“Blaise?” Neville pulled slightly away, he was curious about something.  
“Hmm?” The other boy had a soft smile on his face, his eyes slightly closed, remains of previous kisses.  
“Are Harry and Malfoy…”  
“What?” The dark skinned boy furrowed his eyebrows, he knew what his boyfriend meant but he still expressed confusion.  
“You know… are they a… a thing?” Neville was almost afraid of the answer.  
“I don’t know.”  
“You saw how Harry reacted at breakfast. It was a bit… weird, wasn’t it?”  
“I guess so.”  
“Everyone’s going to think they’re together now.” The Gryffindor was right, rumors were quick to spread at Hogwarts.  
“Maybe they are.” Blaise shrugged his shoulders.  
“You really think so?” Neville’s eyes were wide.  
“Malfoy has been pinning over Potter for a while. Maybe he likes him back. It’s not impossible. He broke up with Weasley, didn’t he?”  
“Malfoy has been…” He repeated his boyfriend’s words, his thoughts overpowering his speech, not letting him finish his sentence.  
“Yeah. He likes him.” Blaise went back to kissing Neville. “And I like you.” He whispered seductively.  
“Oh you do, now do ya?” The other released a playful smile, forgetting about the previously spoken subject.  
“Hmm hmm” The Slytherin mumbled, his voice low, and pulled his boyfriend closer, earning a small whimper from him. “Wanna go somewhere?”  
“Uh… where?” Neville knew where this was going.  
“Somewhere quiet.”  
“Quiet?” Yeah, he definitely knew where this was going.  
“I want to be inside you again.”  
“Blaise! Don’t say that! Someone might hear.” The boy almost chocked at the other’s words. Even though their voices were low, he was still afraid someone might be listening.  
“Let them.” Blaise laughed at Neville’s now extremely red cheeks. “Come.” He grabbed his boyfriend’s hand with the intention of pulling him towards somewhere a bit more… private. Neville resisted.  
“Blaise, no! We have Transfiguration in 20 minutes!”  
“We’ll have to be quick then.” The Slytherin insisted.  
“No.”  
“Neville…”  
“We are going to class.” The boy was certain about it.  
“It’s just Mcgonagall.”  
“Yeah and you’re already on thin ice with her.”  
Blaise huffed. Neville was right, he shouldn’t be skipping, his Transfiguration grades weren’t that good and the woman had been picking on him for a while. “Fine. I get another kiss though, right?”  
“Sure.” The Gryffindor pretended to sound annoyed, only to release a big smile afterwards as he pulled his boyfriend’s tie so their lips could meet again. 

Harry Potter had just spent the previous three hours writing a thirty paged essay. His hand was throbbing. Severus Snape was a monster. Thankfully he had been able to escaped unharmed. Well, mostly.  
“Draco!” Harry called, running down the corridor hoping to meet his uh… boyfriend? No, that wasn’t right. Were they…  
The blond boy turned his head as the other reached him, his eyes widening in fear. “Go away.” He whispered harshly.  
“What? W… why?” Harry Potter was confused, he didn’t expect for Draco to push him away. He knew the previous night had been a disaster but it hadn’t been his fault.  
“I can’t be seen…” The Slytherin stopped speaking. Two Hufflepuff girls passed through them, giggling as they attempted to pretend they had been looking anywhere else but the two. When they were gone, he continued. “I can’t be seen talking to you.”  
“But…” Why was Draco acting this way?  
“People are getting suspicious. They might think we’re…”  
“But we are.” Harry couldn’t believe the blond’s words.  
“And I don’t want them to know. They all think I’m gay now and…”  
“You are gay.”  
“Don’t say that!” Draco shouted, earning the looks of the students around them.  
“Draco, it’s ok. I don’t mind them thinking we’re a couple.” The black haired boy whispered almost inaudibly.  
“But I do!” The blond sighed. “We’ll talk later. Clocktower. Seven o’clock.”  
“Draco.” Harry attempted to make him see reason but failed to do so, Draco was quick to turn his expression into one of disgust, reminding him of the old days.  
“Get out of the way, Potter!”  
The boy bumped his shoulder roughly agains’t Harry, pushing him away, and continued walking towards a new destination, leaving the other alone. The Gryffindor knew he was faking it but it still hurt.

Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger sat in the Gryffindor common room. The girl was snuggled agains’t the other’s chest as she read a book. Classes were over for the day and, gladly, the room was still unoccupied.  
“Hermione…”  
“Hmm?” The girl barely responded, her eyes not leaving the pages.  
“Uh… when are we gonna… you know…”  
Hermione’s eyes went wide, she knew right away what the redhead was attempting to say. “What?”  
“Have sex.” The boy whispered. Even though they were alone, is cheeks still grew hot as he felt the fear of uttering the dreaded word.  
“Ron!” Her voice was loud, frightening the other.  
“Bloody hell! I’m sorry! I just thought that…”  
“Just because Harry and Malfoy did it or uh… were trying to anyway, it doesn’t mean we’re having…” She couldn’t finish her sentence, the boy interrupted her right away, his fear overpowering his speech.  
“We’re never gonna do it then?”  
“I didn’t mean… It’s just…” Hermione placed her book on the cushion next to them and said cautiously. “I’m not very experienced…”  
“So? I also never…” Yes, Ronald Weasley’s cheeks were definitely red.  
“Oh. Right. We’ll take it slow then. Maybe uh… we could try…” Ron’s eyes widened, she had to make herself clear. “I don’t mean now! We…” She swallowed nervously before continuing. “I want to, I do. I just don’t know when I’ll be ready that’s all.”  
“It’s fine. We won’t do anything until you’re ready. Ok?” The boy’s lips turned upwards, his smile was shy.  
Hermione’s lips moved towards the redhead’s, his hands flying into her untamed hair. 

Meanwhile at the ClockTower.  
“I don’t get it, Draco. I thought you liked me.”  
“I do like you, Harry. You know I do. But you saw how everybody’s been treating me. I’m the school’s bloody fag!” Draco Malfoy waved his arms frantically in the air, hoping to make himself clear.  
“Don’t call yourself that.” Harry moved towards the other, taking a hold of Draco in an attempt to calm him down.  
“That’s what they have been saying though, isn’t it? Everyone’s disgusted by me, afraid to touch me as if I had some kind of disease.” Even though his arms had ceased to move, the blond’s speech still showed desperation.  
“They’re just idiots, they don’t have anything better to do. That’s all.”  
“That’s not all, Harry! What about you? You’re not just some Hogwarts student, you’re Harry Potter. Imagine what would happen if you were to announce you’re sleeping with Lucius Malfoy’s son. The press would be all over us. I can’t let that happen!”  
Harry had to admit it, the boy was right. However he couldn’t care less about the facts that were leaving his lips. “Draco, didn’t you hear me before? I don’t give a damn. I want to be with you.”  
“And you can be. In secret.” Draco whispered the last words.  
“No.” The black haired boy didn’t want to hide. He just wanted to be with Draco, for them to be a couple just like others were.  
“Harry…”  
The Gryffindor’s hands moved towards Draco’s cheeks, holding them carefully as he continued. “I want you to be my boyfriend, Draco.”  
“B… boyfriend?” The other boy couldn’t find the right words to respond to that confession. Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy… boyfriends. What…  
“Yeah.” Harry nodded, releasing a smile. “Now, will you stop being an idiot and kiss me?”  
Draco didn’t answer, he merely closed his eyes and waited for the other’s mouth to meet his. Their kiss was gentle, lips brushing softly agains’t one another.  
“So, boyfriends?” The black haired boy’s smile was now big.  
“Sure.” Draco’s was too.  
“None of this nonsense of hiding, right?”  
“Harry…”  
“Promise me.”  
“But…”  
“We’ll stay together. We’ll help each other face the consequences. Draco, promise me. We won’t hide.” Harry insisted. He truly didn’t want to keep their relationship a secret. He wasn’t afraid, he just wanted to be with the boy he loved.  
“Ok.” Draco finally accepted.

They had Potions the next day. Draco was there before the trio, he was already sitting at the front desk when Harry arrived with his two friends.  
When he saw the blond, his face lit up. The Gryffindor moved quickly towards his boyfriend and kissed him straight on the lips before sitting next to him. Draco’s face turned tomato red. There were a lot of students there and, of course, the whispers appeared like lightning.  
“Settle down!” Snape shouted, interrupting the voices. He then shared a glance with the new “couple”, raising his left eyebrow. He too had seen the action.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is tiny, I know :(  
> I apologize for that
> 
> But there will be more tomorrow! (hopefully... *fingers crossed*)

“Your son must die, Lucius.”  
Lucius Malfoy feared his master’s words. He knew they were coming. He knew that they would eventually threaten his state of mind. “My lord, he is merely a boy. I highly doubt he’s capable…”  
“He has defied me. I wish him gone.” Voldemort waved his hand and sat on what appeared to be a very grand and comfortable chair. He was like a king resting on his golden throne.  
“Dumbledore is protecting him.” The man attempted to change the other’s mind, his hands sweating, his forehead too. It was suddenly very hot in that room.  
“That won’t be a issue. I might not be able to enter the school and kill the boy myself but, as a father of a student, you are most welcome there. And your wife, Narcissa, is it? She is there as well. It’s only natural for you to be concerned with their well being, Lucius.”  
“What do you wish me to do?” Lucius’ voice was determined and stable, his thoughts were anything but.  
“Kill him, of course.”  
The blond man’s eyes widened, his throat dry as he swallowed air. “I…”  
“You will not disobey me.”  
“No, my lord.” How could he, Lucius Malfoy, disobey the “Great Voldemort”? He was a mere man, while the other was godly and dark.  
“Tomorrow, you’ll enter through the gates of Hogwarts and you will request to speak with your son. I leave the rest to you. Like you said, he’s merely boy, it won’t be difficult to dispose of him.”  
“Yes.” Lucius eyes had yet to return to their usual state. He knew the Dark Lord was aware of his present condition as he also knew he was enjoying it.  
Lucius Malfoy was to kill his own offspring. The man used to believe the boy had so much promise. But, in the end, he had been a disappointment. To think his own son would be involved in such a perverted way of living. And Potter… Loving Potter? Just to think of the possibility of them getting together was disturbing to Lucius. The boy surely had terrible taste. However, to kill him? Was he able to do this? He would gladly disinherit the boy but take his life? He was his son, even if a disgusting little… well, still, the boy had his blood pulsing through his veins. Not that any of it mattered, the man had been ordered to kill his own son and he was not about to fail his master.

“Harry, Ginny’s looking this way.”  
Harry Potter turned his head at his boyfriend’s words to see the redheaded girl avert her gaze quickly towards her book. Yes, Ginny had been watching them.  
“Have you spoken to her since you guys broke up?” Draco’s voice was low, it was as if he was telling a secret.  
“Uh… no.”  
“Don’t you think that maybe you should? Especially now?”  
“I don’t… it’s awkward.” He should.  
“It doesn’t matter if it’s awkward or not. Just go talk to her. Aren’t you supposed to be the “brave” Harry bloody Potter?”  
The black haired boy sighed. “You’re right.”  
Harry was quick to stand up after that, his feet walking towards the girl who had chosen to ignore his arrival.  
“Uh…” The boy scratched the back of his neck. “Ginny?”  
The redhead finally looked up, her eyes meeting Harry’s. “Y… yeah?” She seemed nervous.  
“Can we talk?”  
Ginny shared a look with her friend, who raised an eyebrow at the situation. The girl seemed to be waiting for her approval and, after receiving a nod, she got up to meet the boy.  
They walked for a bit, leaving the library. Afterwards, they ended choosing a secluded spot for their conversation. It went as follows:  
“So, what do you want to talk about?”  
“I…”  
“Just say it, Harry.”  
“I want you to know that you’re great. You’re beautiful and sweet and kind and funny and uh…”  
“Yet, you broke with me.”  
“I just…”  
“You’re gay.”  
“I’m not gay, Ginny. I was in love with you, or I thought I was. And the sex was great and I truly enjoyed spending time with you.”  
“Get to the point, Harry.”  
“I just want us to be ok.”  
“You want us to be friends, is that it?”  
“Yeah.”  
“I don’t know if I can be friends with you.”  
“Why not?”  
“It’s humiliating. You broke up with me to be with Draco Malfoy.”  
“I like Draco.”  
“You prefer him over me.”  
“Yes.”  
“Thank you for whatever this is but I really would like to ignore you for a while if that’s ok. Then maybe, maybe, we can be… friends as you so kindly said. See you around, Harry.”  
And then she was gone, the boy sighing in frustration.

Late Quidditch practice. Whoever had this brilliant idea Draco did not know but he sure wanted to strangle them.  
The blond walked down the deserted school’s corridor, his broom in his right hand. It was nine p.m., everyone was already in the comfort of their common rooms, and it was definitely raining as the boy could tell by the distant sound of drops hitting the windows. Practice until curfew. Bloody hell. And, to make things worse, they had to announce it through an owl! Draco knew his colleagues hated him but they could have still attempted face to face dialogue. Were they really that disgusted by him?  
His hair turned wet as soon as he got to the pitch. The boy looked around only to find the area deserted. Draco’s gaze was frantic. No one was there. It had to be a prank.  
The boy groaned in frustration. Would his tormentors jump out from nowhere or would they be waiting in his room, filled with mischief? His mind was racing. He should have brought his wand, he might need it. If they were to… Draco could not finish his thoughts. The blond realized suddenly he was not alone, there was someone behind him.  
“Late Quidditch practice? Couldn’t you have thought of anything better?” He shouted towards the air, not bothering to turn around.  
“Got you here. Didn’t I, Draco?”  
The boy froze. That voice was not from a Slytherin, not a current one at least. That voice belonged to his father.  
He turned his body to face the intruder.  
“What are you doing here?” Draco’s voice showed confusion and, quite honestly, devastating worry.  
“Just visiting my son. Nothing wrong with a father wanting to spend time with his boy.”  
He took a step back, away from Lucius Malfoy, who carried a surprisingly blank expression on his features. “You’re lying.”  
“You know me well.” Lucius’ face did not change. It was, quite honestly, scaring the boy. Yes, he knew his father well enough to know that nothingness to be frightening.  
Draco watched as the man pulled out his wand in a tight grip. He swallowed, wondering what was about to happen.  
“I’ll make this quick, Draco.”  
“You’re here to kill me?” Realization hit him.  
“I… it has to be done.”  
“I’m your son!” The boy didn’t know which emotion was overpowering his speech, anger or fear.  
Lucius hesitated before answering, his voice threatening to quiver. “I have no choice.”  
“There’s always a choice!”  
The man ignored his son’s outburst and pointed the wooden object towards him.  
“Don’t do this. Don’t.” Draco could feel tears rushing down his cheeks. This was it. He never thought he would go like this. Killed by his own father…  
“Avada… Ava…” Lucius Malfoy was having difficulty pronouncing the words. It was supposed to be simple. Just a few syllables and death would come painlessly.  
“Harry.” The boy didn’t even realized the name had left his lips. The sobs were loud. He might not have heard it, however, his father surely did.  
The man’s sadness turned to anger. How dared he pronounce that word? Painless… The boy had been nothing but nuisance, a nasty stain on a freshly cleaned white shirt, and Potter’s name had reminded him of just that. Disgusting faggot. He was not his son. He would never call someone so vile “son”.  
“Crucio!” He didn’t hesitate this time, Draco was hit once more with the unforgivable curse. Lucius rage the reason behind it, he wanted him to suffer, suffer for destroying his family’s legacy. The Malfoys were doomed as soon as the boy had been born, making him suffer was the punishment.  
How long it had lasted, he did not know. He could only hear the sound of his own screams as agony dominated his body. Death surely seemed lovely now.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys...  
> This...  
> *cries*  
> This it it.  
> The final chapter!  
> I wasn't expecting it to happen myself but I felt a ridiculous narrative starting to form. I apologize :(  
> I'll probably make a sequel in the future... Ta na na naaa
> 
> That being said, I hope we can stay friends as I also hope you'll check out the fiction that I am currently working on. It's Ha Harry Harry Harry Po Po Po Po Potter universe of course, I have yet to finish my obsession.  
> It's about another Hogwarts student, Colin Creevey, and Cedric Diggory (have yet to decide about their death, probably going to change the outcome, can't help myself... but we'll see).  
> I'll be posting the first chapter today.  
> It would make me so happy if you could read it :)
> 
> Hug!

Lucius stopped the spell.  
Draco couldn’t get up. His body was still burning from the attack, his skin lifeless.  
“Don’t say his name.” The man breathed the words, he appeared calmer but he had yet to regret his actions. “It’s disgusting.”  
The curse was indeed unforgivable, father and son separated by hate. The boy would never love Lucius again, their relationship was tainted. The man could rot in Azkaban for all he cared. His love for Harry was not, as he had put it, “disgusting”. This was.  
“I was hoping to kill you painlessly but I had forgotten how much of a disgrace you really are.”  
Draco attempted to answer back but only a faint noise was able to come out from his mouth.

Harry Potter ran through the corridors of Hogwarts. Quidditch practice? Blaise Zabini had informed him Draco had gone to Quidditch practice but that couldn’t be right. It was late and he had just seen the captain of the Slytherin team snogging some girl. It didn’t make sense. Someone had surely fooled Draco. He was probably going to be too late, the blond was most likely already feeling humiliated by now, his tormentors’ actions a mystery to Harry. The boy was going to find out what was happening though and hopefully rescue his boyfriend.  
Harry could feel his legs starting to give up. Why did the pitch had to be so freakin’ far? However, he couldn’t give up and he didn’t. A few minutes later, he had arrived.  
It was already nighttime, only the soft light from the moon illuminating the area, and rain was pouring fiercely from the sky. The Gryffindor had trouble distinguish the shapes in the darkness, his hearing was sharp though.  
“You can’t even stand like a proper man! I refuse to call you my son. I raised you to be strong, not some homosexual, who’s in love with Harry Potter of all people!”  
Was that… Lucius Malfoy? That didn’t sound good.  
Harry walked carefully, his wand in place. Luckily, the man had his back turned agains’t him, allowing him to be hidden from his sight. The black haired boy saw Draco lying on the floor, obviously in pain, unable to defend himself.  
The blond boy raised his body, an action extremely difficult for him to bare. He fell to the floor once more, his legs weak from previous events.  
It broke Harry’s heart seeing him like this. What had the man done to him? And worse, what was he planning? He finally reached Lucius, extending the wooden object towards him, he stopped when it finally reached the back of the other’s neck. “Drop it.”  
Lucius Malfoy laughed. He recognized his voice right way. The reason for his reaction, desperation or amusement, Harry did not understand but, one thing was certain, it made his blood boil with anger.  
“I said drop it!” The Gryffindor shouted, his voice dominating the pitch.  
“Harry Potter, rescuing his beloved. How heartwarming…”  
“I’ll kill you if I have to.” His words were filled with fury.  
“No, you won’t. And, besides, you could have been smarter, there are easiest ways to disarm an opponent.”  
Bloody hell, he was right. Expelliarmus… How could he not remember that? It was such a simple spell to cast.  
“You’re going to Azkaban. You will rot there!”  
“I don’t think so. The Dark Lord will rise and you will fall. He’ll be coming for you soon. I would kill you but he wants to do it himself of course, and I won’t deny him the pleasure.”  
Harry had had it. He was not gonna let the man get away with it. He wouldn’t kill him but he could make him suffer. The boy then casted the first spell he could think of. It was stupid, he knew that but it would do the trick. “Slugulus Eructo!”  
Lucius Malfoy fell to the ground, his face turning purple. He seemed to be on the verge of throwing up. Draco’s eyes were wide, he knew what his boyfriend had just did. Soon, nasty slugs began pouring out of the man’s mouth. Yes, the spell was idiotic but it had worked, Lucius was finished.  
Harry ran towards the blond boy, who had yet to be able to stand by his own.  
“Draco.” He put his hands on the other, pulling him up in a helping gesture.  
“I can’t believe you just did that.” Draco was finally able to speak, his voice almost inaudible but there.  
“He deserved it.”  
The Slytherin felt like laughing, his body betrayed him though, it was too painful for him to do so.  
“What did he do to you?”  
“Crucio.”  
“He did what?!” Harry could not believe what he was hearing. He was his father! How could he do that to his son? The boy attempted to return to Lucius Malfoy, wanting to make him suffer even more, but Draco almost fell due to the movement, the Gryffindor stopping the fall as he kept himself and the other in place. Then he helped Draco sit on the nearest bench, the boy wincing slightly in pain.  
Harry gave his wand to his boyfriend. “Here. Don’t let him get away. I’m gonna get help.” He kissed Draco’s forehead and was off.  
The blond boy stared at his father. “He must be feeling rather humiliated.” He thought, a smirk on his lips. 

Mcgonagall and Dumbledore were quick to be there, Narcissa Malfoy behind.  
“Lucius!” The woman was quick to fall towards her husband’s side, holding him as he vomited. “What happened?”  
“He was torturing his own son, that’s what happened!” Harry shouted angrily, startling the people that were present.  
“What?” Narcissa got away from Lucius, shock written all over her face.  
“He performed a crucio on him!”  
“He was going to kill me.” Draco’s voice was small but noticeable, he was finally regaining his strength.  
His mother’s mouth fell open, her eyes wide. She stared between both father and son. She had yet to look at Draco, who the woman now knew had been attacked.  
The headmaster spoke, breaking the silence. “I shall talk to the minister. His arrest will be immediately arranged.”  
Tears began to run down Narcissa’s cheeks. Her husband in Azkaban… He had intentions of killing their boy, their only son. Her emotions quickly turned from sadness to anger. The man deserved it. 

“How was it like, the crucio?” Ron Weasley did not understand the word “limits”.  
“Ron! Don’t ask that!” Hermione hit the redhead. The boy winced, his arm had suffered throughout the years.  
“I’m curious, that’s all.”  
“It’s a traumatic experience. Now, please shut up.”  
Draco smiled. His boyfriend’s friends were not that bad. He regretted ever having called Hermione a “mudblood”. She was, well, nice.  
The blond looked much better than he did a few weeks back. His father’s attack had been a major misstep but, gladly, it hadn’t effected his everyday health habits.  
Harry met Draco’s lips in a slow meaningful kiss, his fingers resting on the other’s chin, pulling it towards him. Ron Weasley looked away, suddenly very interested in the wall to his left.  
On the other side of the Courtyard were Neville and Blaise.  
“I told my parents.” Blaise spoke, continuing before Neville got too confused. “About us, that is.”  
“You told your parents?” The boy was surprised at his boyfriend’s words. He wasn’t expecting him to do that so soon.  
“Yeah. Sent a letter yesterday. Got the reply in the morning.”  
“How did they…”  
“Shocked. But they’ll come around. It wasn’t that bad. Dad can’t understand how I’ve chosen to be with a boy though. Me liking both is a bit confusing for him.”  
“Does that mean I can visit you this summer?” Neville smiled, hoping for a yes.  
“Yeah.” Blaise was quick to return the gesture.  
“Kiss?”  
The Slytherin laughed as his lips met the others. He then attempted… “Sex?”  
“Yeah.” Of course his boyfriend had just suggested that.  
“Now?”  
“No!” Neville pushed Blaise in a playful movement, only to pull him back again for a kiss. 

Summer was quick to arrive. Last year was soon to follow. They knew their troubles were yet to vanish but, at least, they had each other. If there was a war coming, they would win and survive its outcome.


End file.
